IT.I 1 1  r  i 


O 


.BT  1TIEDE 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year   1877, 

BY     POWHATAN     BOULDIN, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


DUPLICATE 


RA. 


PREFACE. 


THE  inquisitive  reader  perhaps  has  some  curiosity  to 
know  how  this  book  came  to  be  written. 
About  fifteen  years  ago,  I  resided  in  Charlotte,  my  native 
county,  and  my  business  called  me  to  the  homes  of  nearly 
all  the  old  citizens.  Around  the  social  circle  they  often 
spoke  of  JOHN  RANDOLPH — never  seeming  to  tire  of  the 
theme.  So  interesting  were  they,  that  I  determined  to  write 
down  their  recollections,  intending,  at  some  future  day,  to 
arrange  them  for  a  book.  I  had  the  reminiscences  of  my 
father,  the  Hon.  James  W.  Bouldin,  to  begin  with.  To  his 
were  soon  added  those  of  William  H.  Elliott,  Esq.,  who 
generously  came  forward  with  a  most  valuable  contribution. 
The  manuscripts  of  these  two  old  citizens  of  Charlotte,  Mr. 
Randolph's  own  county,  formed  the  nucleus  around  which 
many  others  were  gathered.  So  that,  in  the  course  of  time> 
I  found  myself  in  the  possession  of  a  fund  of  choice  anay 
which  had  never  been  published.  The  recollections  of  a 
large  number  of  Mr.  Randolph's  old  neighbors  and  ac 
quaintances,  which  have  been  woven  into  these  pages,  insure 
a  good  picture,  and  give  a  pleasing  variety  to  the  work. 


IV  PREFACE. 

Since  my  task  was  begun,  many  of  my  contributors  have 
departed  this  life;  and  it  is  fortunate  that  their  testimony 
de  bene  esse  was  taken ;  otherwise  the  world  might  never 
have  known  what  sort  of  man  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 
really  was.  The  original  manuscripts  which  go  in  part  to 
make  up  this  volume,  constitute  a  precious  bundle,  which  I 
shall  preserve  with  "miser  care,"  as  memorials  of  dear 
friends  of  the  olden  time. 

Great  pains  has  been  taken  to  gather  fresh  materials ;  but, 
while  gathering  fresh  materials,  I  have  brought  the  works  of 
others  into  requisition.  Frequent  quotations  have  been 
made  from  Sawyer,  Garland,  Baldwin,  Benton  and  Sparks. 
If  possibly  a  valuable  book  has  been  written,  it  is  owing  to 
the  highly  interesting  and  original  contributions  which  have 
been  kindly  furnished  me,  and  to  the  choice  extracts  from 
other  sources.  I  claim  no  credit  save  that  which  attaches  to 
the  laborious  bee,  gathering  its  precious  freight,  here  a  little 
and  there  a  little,  from  every  blooming  flower. 

I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  furnish  the  reader  with  a  good 
likeness  of  Mr.  Randolph.  The  engraving  is  taken  from  a 
portrait  presented  by  a  citizen  of  Philadelphia  to  the  State 
of  Virginia,  which  several  old  persons,  who  were  acquainted 
with  Mr.  Randolph,  have  assured  me  is  an  excellent  like 
ness. 

It  affords  me  great  pleasure  to  express  my  thanks  to  several 
friends,  who  have,  Fn  various  ways,  and  in  a  special  manner, 


PREFACE.  V 

aided  me  in  my  undertaking:  namely,  Dr.  H.  C.  Alexander, 
of  the  Union  Theological  Seminary;  Judge  F.  N.  Watkins, 
of  Prince  Edward  county,  and  Messrs.  R.  A.  Brock  and 
John  Booker,  of  Richmond,  Va. 

And  now,  gentle  reader,  hoping  that  you  may  be  pleased, 
I  place  the  result  of  my  labors  before  you ;  and  to  all  to 
whom  I  am,  in  any  way,  indebted  for  assistance,  I  hereby 
tender  my  heartfelt  thanks. 

POWHATAN  BOULDIN. 

DANVILLE,  VIRGINIA, 

January,  1878. 


ERRATA: 


Page    3  :  For  Parks,  read  Sparks. 

80 :  For  jesture,  read  gesture. 

139 :  For  Parks,  read  Sparks. 

157:  For  timid,  read 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE. 

Outline  of  Mr.  Randolph's  Life, I 

CHAPTER  II. 

His  Personal  Appearance  —  His  Eyes  —  Voice  —  Incidents  by  Hon. 

James  W.  Bouldin  and  William  H.  Elliott,  Esq.,  10 

CHAPTER  III. 

At  Home  —  House  —  Diet  —  Horses  —  Dogs — English  Prejudices — 
Conversations — Recollections  of  Wm.  B.  Green,  Esq. — "  Unfor 
tunate  Temper  of  the  Man" — Interesting  Scene  in  Court  by 
Judge  Wood  Bouldin,  .  .  , 20 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Devotion  to  Old  Things — Good  Fortune — Electioneering  among  the 
People  —  His  Church  —  Visit  to  a  Young  Lady  —  Could  have 
written  Childe  Harold, 35 

CHAPTER  V. 

Speeches  on  the  Hustings  —  His  Style  of  Speaking  —  Sketches  by 
Hon.  James  W.  Bouldin  —  Extract  from  "Schoolboy  Reminis 
cences,"  by  W.  H.  Elliott  — Sketch  by  James  M.  Whittle  — 
Recollections  by  Dr.  C.  H.  Jordan  and  Hon.  Thomas  S.  Flour- 
noy — His  Great  Speech  at  Halifax  Court-house  against  calling 
a  State  Convention, 47 


CHAPTER   I. 

AN  OUTLINE  OF  MR.  RANDOLPH'S  LIFE. 

JOHN  RANDOLPH  was  the  most  remarkable  charac 
ter  that  this  country  has  ever  produced;  indeed,  it  is 
doubted  whether  there  ever  lived  in  any  country  a  man 
so  brilliant  and  at  the  same  time  so  eccentric.  A  great  deal 
has  been  written  concerning-  him,  and  yet  the  public  curios 
ity  has  been  by  no  means  satisfied.  We  purpose  to  add  our 
contribution,  which  is  composed  in  a  great  measure  of  the 
recollections  of  his  old  constituents  and  neighbors.  But, 
before  entering  upon  our  proper  task  of  home  reminiscences, 
let  us  give  an  outline  of  our  subject,  reserving  future  chap 
ters  for  the  completion  of  the  picture. 

John  Randolph — of  Roanoke,  as  he  styled  himself — was 
born  at  Cawsons,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Appomattox  river, 
on  the  3d  of  June,  1773.  His  father,  John  Randolph,  Sen'r, 
died  in  1775,  and  his  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Fran 
ces  Bland,  married  St.  George  Tucker,  Es(J.  By  her  first 
marriage  she  had  three  children,  Richard  Randolph,  The- 
oderick  Bland  Randolph  and  John  Randolph.  From  the 
second  union  were  born  Henry  St.  George  Tucker,  Beverly 
Tucker  and  Mrs.  Judge  Coalter.  The  family  residence  was 
at  Matoax,  near  Petersburg,  Va.,  until  Arnold's  invasion, 
when  Mrs.  Tucker  and  her  young  children  were  forced  to 
flee  from  that  part  of  the  country  to  Bizarre  near  Farmville. 
John  Randolph  was  only  two  years  of  age  when  his  father 


2  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

(*l 

died,  and  fifteen  at  the  time  of  his  mother's  second  marriage. 
His  mother  was  a  highly  accomplished  woman,  as  beautiful 
in  person  as  she  wras  amiable  in  disposition,  and  withal  a 
woman  of  great  piety.  Often  in  manhood  he  was  wont  to 
remark  that  his  mother  was  the  only  human  being  who 
knew  him.  Through  life  he  held  her  memory  in  the  deep 
est  veneration ;  indeed,  he  idolized  her. 

At  the  age  of  nine,  he  was  sent  to  school  in  Orange 
county,  Va. ;  at  fourteen  to  Princeton,  and  the  year  follow 
ing,  to  Columbia  College,  N.  Y.  When  his  father-in-law, 
Judge  Tucker,  was  appointed  professor  of  law  at  Williams- 
burg,  Mr.  Randolph  was  placed  in  the  grammar  school,  and 
afterwards  advanced  to  some  of  the  higher  classes.  He 
seems  not  to  have  been  well  pleased  with  his  teachers,  that 
is  to  say,  he  complained  of  their  partiality  and  incompetency, 
and  expressed  a  very  great  contempt  for  college  honors. 
Having  never  pursued  a  regular  course  of  studies,  he  never 
graduated.  Before  leaving  -Williamsburg,  he  attended  a 
course  of  lectures  on  law ;  he  afterwards  went  to  Philadel 
phia  to  complete  his  studies  for  that  profession,  entering  the 
office  of  his  uncle,  Edmund  Randolph,  who  was  then  attor 
ney  general. 

While  at  college,  he  had  an  affair  of  honor  with  a  fellow- 
student,  Robert  B.  Taylor,  of  Norfolk,  an  account  of  which 
is  given  by  Mr.  Lemuel  Sawyer,  Mr.  Randolph's  first  biog 
rapher.  He  states  that  the  two  young  students  "  had  taken 
opposite  sides  in  politics,  and  were  both  fiery  spirits  and  full 
of  Virginia  pride  of  chivalry.  Their  quarrel  arose  in  a  de 
bating  society  to  which  they  both  belonged,  from  that  most 
fertile  cause,  politics.  For  some  personalities  of  an  unpala 
table  nature,  Mr.  Taylor  challenged  him.  They  met  in  a 
field  near  the  town,  and  the  first  fire  was  exchanged  without 
effect.  While  preparing  for  the  second,  Mr.  Randolph 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  3 

promised  to  hit  him  next  time,  which  he  did,  dangerously 
wounding  him  in  the  hip,  and  he  carried  the  ball  in  him  to 
the  day  of  his  death.  They  were  reconciled  on  the  spot, 
and  Mr.  Randolph  always  spoke  of  him  in  the  highest  terms 
of  admiration,  as  well  of  his  high  sense  of  honor  as  his 
superior  talents." 

Though  Mr.  Randolph  did  not  pursue  a  regular  course 
at  college,  in  the  solitudes  of  Roanoke  he,  no  doubt,  contin 
ued  his  study  of  the  classics,  and  spent  many  of  his  leisure 
liours  in  miscellaneous  reading.  He  had  a  choice  selection 
of  books,  and  it  was  remarkable  how  many  notes  in  his  own 
hand  were  on  the  margin  of  most  of  the  volumes  in  his 
library.  He  was  a  fine  Latin  and  English  scholar,  had  a 
large  acquaintance  with  history  and  was  perhaps  the  best 
geographer  of  his  day.  Mr.  Parks,  author  of  "  The  Memo 
ries  of  Fifty  Years,"  says :  "  He  knew  more,  and  knew  it 
more  accurately,  than  any  other  man  of  his  country,  except, 
perhaps,  that  wonderful  man,  William  Lowndes." 

Mr.  Randolph  was  passionately  fond  of  the  sports  of  the 
field,  and  after  he  left  college  much  of  his  time  was  spent  in 
visiting  his  friends  in  different  parts  of  the  country  with  his 
dog  and  gun.  He  kept  up  a  regular  correspondence,  how 
ever,  with  his  schoolmates ;  indeed,  letter  writing  seems  to 
have  been  a  source  of  gratification  to  him  all  his  life.  We 
doubt  if  any  other  man  ever  wrote  as  many  letters. 

Among  his  early  companions  was  one  by  the  name  of 
John  Thompson — a  wild,  dissipated,  but  brilliant  young 
man.  A  warm  and  lasting  friendship  sprang  up  between 
them.  Mr.  Randolph  invited  him  to  his  house,  treated  him 
as  a  brother,  and  used  every  effort  to  effect  his  reformation, 
but  without  success.  His  letters  to  him  are  filled  with  the 
tenderest  feeling,  the  soundest  advice  and  the  largest  charity 
for  his  faults.  Joseph  Bryan,  of  Georgia,  who  afterwards 


4  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

became  a  member  of  Congress,  was  another  of  his  youthful 
friends.  When  Mr.  Bryan  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  his 
wife,  Mr.  Randolph  took  charge  of  the  two  infant  children. 
John  Randolph  Bryan,  his  namesake,  in  the  course  of  time, 
married  his  niece. 

Mr.  Randolph's  brother,  Richard,  married  Judith,  daugh 
ter  of  Thomas  Mann  Randolph,  of  Tuckahoe;  her  sister, 
Ann  Gary,  a  woman  of  rare  genius  and  personal  accom 
plishments,  married  Gouverneur  Morris.  The  hero  of  our 
narrative  never  married;  but,  in  early  youth,  he  formed  a 
deep  attachment  to  a  young  lady,  whose  name  was  Maria 
Ward — the  daughter  of  his  mother's  friend.  For  many 
years  they  were  engaged  to  be  married,  but'  for  some  cause 
the  engagement  was  suddenly  broken  off.  It  is  stated  that 
the  distinguished  lover  left  the  presence  of  his  idol  very 
much  incensed,  and  that,  when  he  came  to  his  horse,  which 
was  tied  to  the  limb  of  a  tree  near  the  front  gate,  he  cut  the 
reins  loose  with  his  knife  and  rode  off  in  great  haste.  For 
a  time,  Mr.  Randolph  and  Miss  Ward  were  not  on  speaking 
terms,  and  they  seldom  met  after  their  engagement  was  bro 
ken  off.  Miss  Ward  is  described  as  having  been  a  lovely 
and  fascinating  woman — the  greatest  belle  of  her  day  in  the 
state.  She  married  Peyton  Randolph,  son  of  Edmund 
Randolph,  who  was^secretafy'of  state  under  General  Wash 
ington. 

It  is  related  of  Mrs.  Randolph  that,  when  Gen.  Lafayette 
visited  Richmond,  he  was  so  charmed  writh  her  engaging 
manners  and  agreeable  conversation,  that  he  proposed  to 
adopt  her  as  his  daughter,  and,  as  she  was  in  delicate  health 
at  the  time,  he  invited  her  to  visit  him  in  France.  She  died, 
however,  before  he  left  this  country  for  his  home  across  the 
sea.  John  Randolph  survived  her  several  years,  and  it  is 
believed  that  both  retained,  to  the  end  of  their  lives,  a  mel- 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  5 

ancholy  interest  in  each  other.  He  used  to  call  her  his 
*'  angel,"  and  in  one  of  his  letters,  written  after  her  death,  he 
uses  this  remarkable  expression :  "  I  loved,  aye,  and  was 
loved  again,  not  wisely,  but  too  well." 

Mr.  Randolph  had  not  only  the  advantage  of  a  classical 
education,  but  the  most  refined  and  elegant  society,  having 
grown  up  with  Peyton  Randolph,  George  Mason  and 
Thomas  Jefferson.  He  had,  besides,  the  opportunity  of 
hearing  the  glowing  speeches  of  Patrick  Henry — an  inesti 
mable  privilege  to  a  young  man  of  his  aspiring  genius.  The 
glories  and  triumphs  of  Henry's  eloquence  was  one  of  the 
favorite  themes  of  his  fascinating  conversations.  He  was 
the  constant  attendant  on  the  sittings  of  the  first  Congress. 
In  one  of  his  speeches  to  his  constituents,  he  said:  "I  was 
at  Federal  Hall  and  I  saw  Washington,  but  could  not  hear 
him  take  the  oath  to  support  the  Federal  constitution.  The 
constitution  was  in  its  chrysalis  state.  I  saw  what  Washing 
ton  did  not  see ;  but  two  other  men  in  Virginia  saw  it — 
George  Mason  and  Patrick  Henry — the  poison  under  its 
wings" 

It  so  happened  that  the  first  act  which  brought  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  into  public  notice,  was  his  answer  to  the  last  speech 
of  the  great  orator  of  the  revolution,  he  then  being  a  candi 
date  for  Congress  and  only  twenty-six  years  of  age.  And 
here  we  must  be  permitted  to  remark,  that  we  have  not  lan 
guage  to  express  our  admiration  for  his  moral  courage  in 
undertaking  such  a  task. 

Then  it  was  that  the  bright  star  of  his  genius  rose,  and 
thus  early  did  he  strike  the  key  note  of  his  political  life. 
On  the  occasion  alluded  to,  he  spoke  in  opposition  to  the 
alien  and  sedition  law.  His  family  were  Whigs,  opposed  to 
the  adoption  of  the  Federal  constitution,  and  it  is  not  sur- 


6  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

prising,  after  it  had  been  adopted,  that  he  should  have  ad 
vocated  a  strict  construction  of  it. 

Mr.  Randolph  was  elected  to  Congress,  and  Patrick  Henry 
to  the  Legislature,  the  latter  having  been  drawn  from  his  re 
tirement  by  the  earnest  solicitation  of  Gen'l  Washington, 
who  greatly  needed  his  services  to  save  the  falling  fortunes, 
of  the  Federal  party.  From  that  time  to  the  day  of  his 
death,  Mr.  Randolph  was  the  able,  fearless,  unceasing  advo 
cate  of  State  Rights.  He,  at  once,  took  position  by  the  side 
of  such  men  as  W.  B.  Giles,  W.  H.  Crawford,  and  Littleton 
Waller  Tazewell ;  having  risen  to  eminence  more  suddenly 
than  any  young  man  of  his  day. 

As  soon  as  he  entered  Congress,  he  commenced  his  war 
of  opposition,  for  which  he  was  by  nature  preeminently 
qualified.  He  opposed  the  bill  for  increasing  the  army  in 
view  of  our  difficulties  with  France ;  the  great  Yazoo  fraud, 
the  embargo  during  Mr.  Jefferson's  administration,  and  the 
entire  system  of  restrictive  commerce;  the  war  with  Eng 
land  during  the  administration  of  Mr.  Madison,  and  all  of 
fensive  war;  the  bill  to  aid  the  Greeks  in  their  efforts  to 
throw  off  the  Turkish  yoke;  the  Panama  mission,  and  all 
foreign  alliances  or  affiliations.  He  made  war  upon  the 
national  bank,  tariff,  internal  improvement  by  the  general 
government,  the  Missouri  compromise — in  short,  every  mea 
sure  which,  in  his  opinion,  was  calculated,  in  the  slightest 
degree,  to  enlarge  the  powers  of  the  general  government,  or 
infringe  upon  the  rights  of  the  states. 

In  answer  to  the  taunts  made  by  his  political  opponents, 
that  he  never  proposed  any  measure,  but  was  always  pulling 
down  other  men's  work,  he  replied,  that  he  regarded  it  "the 
brightest  feather  in  his  cap."  In  a  speech  he  delivered  at 
Halifax  Court-house,  a  few  years  before  his  death,  he  stated 


OF    JOHN    RANDOLPH.  7 

that  "his  whole  aim  had  been  to  prevent,  not  to  promote, 
legislation." 

There  was  a  wide  difference  between  Mr.  Clay's  policy 
and  the  policy  of  Mr.  Randolph.  The  contrast  is  well 
marked  by  Mr.  Baldwin  in  his  "  Party  Leaders,"  who  says : 

"  Clay  thought  the  general  government  a  vast  and  mighty 
agency,  which,  made  vital  by  the  will  of  a  free  and  energetic 
people,  could  accomplish,  by  its  affirmative  action,  signal 
blessings  to  his  country  and  the  world.  He  desired  to  build 
up  a  mighty  nation,  whose  power  should  be  felt  and  acknow 
ledged  throughout  the  world.  The  American  system  was, 
through  a  national  bank,  to  afford  a  national  currency,  and 
to  facilitate  the  transactions  of  commerce;  internal  improve 
ments  were  to  be  the  ties  of  a  close  commercial  union  and 
personal  correspondence  between  the  different  sections  and 
to  bind  the  States  together  with  bands  of  iron;  the  tariff 
was  to  make  us  independent  of  foreign  nations  for  the  muni 
tions  of  war  and  the  comforts  of  life,  and  to  build  up  vast 
storehouses  of  wealth  for  the  country;  the  navigation  laws 
were  to  foster  an  independent  marine ;  the  Panama  mission 
to  place  us  at  the  head  of  the  continent,  controlling  and 
drawing  its  trade,  and  governing  its  policy ;  the  public  lands 
were  to  give  to  the  States  the  means  of  improving  their 
communications  and  educating  their  people ;  and  a  navy  and 
army  were  to  protect  our  commerce  on  the  ocean,  and  com 
mand  the  respect  of  foreign  powers.  He  boasted  that  he 
was  an  AMERICAN  CITIZEN,  and  was  proud  of  the  title, 
knowing  no  North,  no  South,  no  East,  no  West.  Randolph, 
on  the  other  hand,  claimed  to  be  a  Virginian,  owing  his  pri 
mary  and  only  allegiance  to  that  venerable  commonwealth, 
acknowledging  the  Federal  government  but  as  a  limited 
agency,  which  she,  with  others,  had  established,  for  a  few 
simple  purposes.  His  doctrine  was  that  that  government 


8  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

should  be  watched  with  jealousy;  that  it  had  an  inherent 
proclivity  to  enlarge  powers,  originally  too  strong;  which 
enlargement  would  lead  to  the  greatest  possible  evil,  consol 
idation''1 

It  was  in  the  year  1810  that  he  changed  his  residence 
from  Bizarre,  in  Prince  Edward  county,  to  Roanoke  on  the 
Staunton,  in  Charlotte,  in  which  county  he  owned  a  large 
landed  estate  and  hundreds  of  negro  slaves.  For  years  he 
lived  in  a  log  house,  in  the  midst  of  a  dense  forest.  The 
yard  was  unenclosed,  the  trees  were  unpruned,  nor  was  there 
a  flower  or  green  shrub  to  relieve  the  wild  aspect  of  the 
abode  of  this  descendant  of  Pocahontas. 

From  the  time  that  Mr.  Randolph  was  first  elected  to 
Congress,  in  1798,  until  his  death,  in  1833,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  a  few  years,  he  was  in  the  public  service,  once  as 
senator  of  the  United  States,  but  mostly  as  a  member  of 
the  House  of  Representatives.  When  he  declined  a  re 
election  to  Congress,  intending  to  retire  from  public  life,  at 
the  solicitation  of  his  friends  and  admirers,  he  was  induced 
to  run  for  a  seat  in  the  Virginia  Convention  of  1829,  and 
was  elected.  His  speeches  before  that  body,  as  able  as  any 
body  ever  assembled  on  affairs  of  State,  are  said  to  have 
been  the  most  interesting,  if  not  the  most  effective,  that 
\vere  made.  His  object  was  to  save,  as  much  as  possible, 
the  old  constitution,  under  which  he  had  grown  up,  and 
"which  was  the  representative  of  all  in  the  past  that  was 
glorious  and  honorable  of  the  land  of  his  fathers."  He 
opposed  all  changes;  and  where  he  found  that  changes 
would  be  made,  he  endeavored  to  make  them  as  slight  as 
possible. 

A  few  years  before  his  death,  he  committed  the  great 
blunder  of  his  political  life,  in  accepting  a  mission  to  Russia. 
He  visited  Europe  three  times.  When  his  eyes  first  met 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  9 

the  shores  of  Old  England,  he  exclaimed:  ''Thank  God! 
that  I  have  lived  to  behold  the  land  of  Shakespeare,  of  Mil 
ton,  and  of  my  forefathers ! " 

Mr.  Randolph  never  enjoyed  an  hour  of  good  health, 
being  a  sufferer  from  bodily  disease  all  his  days.  The  death 
of  his  mother,  his  devotion  to  whom  we  have  already  no 
ticed,  was  a  crushing  blow  to  him ;  but  a  still  heavier  blow 
was  the  marriage  to  another  of  the  object  of  his  early  affec 
tion.  "Long  years  afterwards,"  says  Mr.  Garland,  "when 
the  body  was  locked  in  the  fitful  embrace  of  a  feverish  sleep, 
and  the  soul  wandering  in  dreams,  that  once  loved  name 
has  been  heard  to  escape  from  his  lips,  in  a  tone  that 
evinced  how  deeply  the  love  of  the  being  who  bore  it  had 
been  engraved  on  the  inmost  sanctuary  of  his  heart."  He 
was  greatly  affected  by  the  untimely  loss  of  his  brothers 
and  other  relatives  and  friends. 

Having  attracted,  as  no  other  man  in  this  country  ever 
did,  the  eyes  of  the  world  for  thirty-five  years,  he  breathed 
his  last  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  on  the  24th  day  of  June, 
1833,  and  was  buried  at  Roanoke  under  a  tall  pine  selected 
by  himself,  with  no  marble  or  monument  to  mark  the  spot 
where  rest  the  remains  of  the  great  Virginia  orator,  satirist, 
and  statesman. 


10  HOME     REMINISCENCES 


CHAPTER  II. 


His  Personal  Appearance —  His  Eyes  —  Voice  —  Incidents  by  Hon.  James 
W.  Bouldin  and  William  H.  Elliott,  Esq. 

MR.   RANDOLPH   was  perhaps  the   most   impressive 
man  that  ever  lived ;  and  much  of  what  he  said  and 
did  could  be  gathered  from  the  recollections  of  others, 
even  at  this  late  day.     And  not  only  is  this  the  case,  but  his 
image  is  still  alive  in  the  minds  of  all  who  had  the  good 
fortune  to  see  him — his  tall  and  slender  frame,  his  long, 
bony  fingers,  his  dark  eyes,  his  withered  and  beardless  face, 
upon  which  there  were  so  many  wrinkles,  his  graceful  bow, 
his  lofty  bearing. 

The  most  remarkable  feature  about  him  was  his  eyes. 
They  were  brilliant  beyond  all  comparison,  and  ever  vigi 
lant.  When  he  first  entered  an  assembly  of  people,  they 
were  the  eyes  of  the  eagle  in  search  of  his  prey,  darting 
about  from  place  to  place  to  see  upon  whom  to  light;  when 
his  person  was  assailed,  they  flashed  fire,  and  proclaimed  a 
torrent  of  rage  within. 

And  he  had  a  voice  which  was  distinguished  among  ten 
thousand.  One  might  live  a  hundred  years  and  not  hear 
such  a  sound  as  proceeded  from  his  lungs ;  and  the  wonder 
was,  why  the  sweet  tone  of  a  woman  was  so  harmoniously 
blended  with  that  of  a  man.  He  could  be  heard  as  far 
as  any  speaker,  we  presume ;  and  it  is  curious  that  the  indi 
vidual  sitting  immediately  under  him  would  experience  no 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  11 

inconvenience.  His  very  whisper  could  be  distinguished 
above  the  ordinary  tone  of  other  men.  His  voice  was  so 
singularly  clear,  distinct  and  melodious,  that  it  was  a  posi 
tive  pleasure  to  hear  him  articulate  anything.  The  Hon. 
James  W.  Bouldin,  whose  "Recollections"  are  before  us  in 
the  original  manuscript,  says: 

"  I  once  stayed  all  night  with  Mr.  Randolph  at  Roanoke,. 
and  for  some  reason  which  I  do  not  remember  I  slept  in 
the  sUme  room  with  him.  Having  gone  to  bed,  Mr.  Ran 
dolph,  at  a  late  hour  of  the  night,  roused  me  by  setting  his 
books  to  rights  and  singing: 

'  Fresh  and  strong  the  breeze  is  blowing, 
As  your  bark  at  anchor  rides.' 

"  I  thought  his  singing  as  far  surpassed  other  men's  sing 
ing  as  his  speaking  surpassed  other  meris  speaking." 

Mr.  Randolph  was  fond  of  music  and  had  a  talent  for  it; 
but  so  prodigal  was  nature  with  him,  that  he  could  afford 
to  let  this  gift  lie  dormant,  from  which  others  realize  fame 
and  fortune.  He  was  perhaps  ashamed  to  work  in  mines  of 
silver  and  gold  when  diamonds  were  in  his  reach. 

The  moment  one  laid  eyes  on  Mr.  Randolph  he  felt 
conscious  of  seeing  a  great  man.  Under  great  mental  ex 
citement  his  appearance  was  unusually  striking.  On  one 
occasion,  when  he  was  about  to  make  a  speech  at  Charlotte 
Court-house,  says  the  same  gentleman  from  whose  manu 
script  we  quoted  above: 

"As  he  saw  the  people  gather  around  the  stand,  his  eye 
began  to  kindle,  his  color  to  rise ;  and  as  he  became  more 
and  more  animated,  his  eyes  sparkled  brighter  and  brighter; 
and  his  cheeks  grew  rosy,  the  wrinkles  on  his  face  seemed 
to  disappear  with  the  sallowness  and  languor,  and  he  be 
came  almost  transfigured." 


12  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

This  was  the  case  with  Patrick  Henry  on  great  occasions ; 
but  the  appearance  of  Mr.  Randolph  was  remarkable  on 
all  occasions.  "Patrick  Henry's  countenance,  which,"  Mr. 
Baldwin  in  his  Party  Leaders  remarks,  "under  the  excite 
ment  of  speech  was  almost  articulate  with  the  emotions  that 
thrilled  his  soul,  was  almost  dull  in  repose;  and  Mr.  Clay 
had  nothing  but  a  lofty  brow  and  bright  eye  to  redeem  his 
face  from  uncommon  plainness." 

There  was  nothing  plain  or  common  about  the  features  of 
Mr.  Randolph.  When  he  made  his  appearance  he  not  only 
caused  the  schoolboy  to  drop  his  paddle,  while  the  ball 
passed  unheeded  by,  but  the  pious  member  of  the  church 
forgot  to  say  his  prayers,  and  the  grave  senator  turned  his 
eyes  from  the  affairs  of  state  and  fixed  them  on  him.  Other 
men  were  great,  but  it  required  some  unusual  occasion  to 
bring  them  out.  The  slumbering  fire  must  be  roused  upon 
the  field  of  battle,  or  never  waked  to  action.  The  latent 
energies  must  be  stimulated  by  stirring  scenes,  or  sleep  for 
ever.  Even  the  immortal  Clay  was  sometimes  vapid  and 
dull;  Mr.  Randolph  never.  His  lamp  was  always  burning. 
In  him,  the  vivida  vis  animi  was  always  resplendent.  His 
feelings  were  intense,  and  all  his  faculties  morbidly  active. 
Hence,  whatever  he  said  or  did,  was  done  in  the  most 
impressive  manner.  His  words  and  actions  were  so  many 
vivid  pictures  which  fixed  themselves  indelibly  upon  the 
minds  of  others.  Owing  to  this  cause,  his  conversations 
upon  subjects  the  most  trivial,  possessed  a  charm  which  few 
could  create,  upon  subjects  the  most  important. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  we  scarcely  ever  heard  a  per 
son  tell  an  anecdote,  or  repeat  a  saying  of  Mr.  Randolph's, 
without  attempting  to  imitate  his  inimitable  style,  and  mak 
ing  at  the  same  time  a  most  signal  failure.  Each  seemed  to 
feel  it  a  duty  he  owed  to  the  author,  to  convey,  if  possible, 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  13 

some  idea  of  his  peerless  manner.  This,  they  deemed  alto 
gether  necessary  to  forming  a  proper  estimate  of  the  man. 
And  as  they  were  forced  to  acknowledge,  that  they  were 
wholly  inadequate  to  the  task,  we  fancied  we  saw  upon  their 
countenances,  mingled  with  a  feeling  of  dissatisfaction  at 
their  own  want  of  powers  of  imitation,  evident  traces  of 
regret,  that  such  looks  and  tones  could  never  be  transmitted 
to  others ;  that,  of  the  magical  powers  which  rendered  him 
immortal,  posterity  could  form  no  just  conception. 

It  is  not  wonderful,  therefore,  that  so  many  of  his  sayings 
are  remembered  to  this  day.  We  are  confident  that,  while 
the  manner  cannot  be  conveyed,  more*  of  the  matter  of  what 
Mr.  Randolph  said,  could  be  accurately  reported  from  the 
memories  of  others,  than  of  any  man  who  ever  lived  in 
America.  And  the  interest  which  he  excited  in  his  congres 
sional  district  was  wholly  unrivalled.  Wherever  he  stopped, 
those  who  had  seen  him  all  their  lives,  would  stare  and  gaze 
at  him,  as  if  he  had  been  some  show,  or  as  if  they  had  never 
seen  him  before,  or  anything  like  him. 

It  is  said  that  every  great  man  has  a  glance  which  no  one 
can  imitate.  A  learned  physiologist  goes  farther  and  states, 
that  "  every  man  of  decided  character  reveals  it  in  his  eyes." 
We  have  already  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  most  re 
markable  feature  about  Mr.  Randolph  was  his  eyes.  The 
following  incident,  touching  upon  this  point,  taken  from  the 
written  memoranda  of  Mr.  Bouldin,  will  no  doubt  be  read 
with  interest:  He  says — 

"Soon  after  I  first  knew  Mr.  Randolph,  I  had  occasion  to 
visit  Winchester,  Virginia.  On  my  way  there  I  stopped  at 
Gordonsville,  and  was  reclining  on  the  porch  bench,  being 
very  tired,  when  a  man  rode  up  just  from  Norfolk.  He  im 
mediately  began  on  politics,  and  told  of  a  rencounter  which, 
he  said,  had  recently  taken  pjace  between  Mr.  Randolph  and 


14  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

a  Mr.  L.,  at  Prince  Edward  Court-house,  a  few  days  before, 
in  which  Mr.  Randolph  was  so  completely  vanquished  that 
everybody  deserted  him;  but,  while  his  young  competitor 
was  speaking,  such  was  the  attention  paid  to  him,  that  you 
might  have  heard  a  pin  fall. 

"  I  observed  that  the  tavern  keeper  looked  very  incredu 
lous,  and  though  he  did  not  contradict  or  cross-examine 
much,  he  was  evidently  slow  to  believe  the  story.  He  had 
found  out  from  my  servant  where  I  was  from,  and  as  soon 
as  he  had  an  opportunity,  he  asked  me,  when  alone,  how 
much  of  the  story  was  true  ? 

"  I  told  him  that  if  he  would  say  Charlotte  instead  of 
Prince  Edward,  and  M.,  a  man  in  the  prime  of  life,  instead 
of  L.,  a  young  man,  and  then  say  Randolph  instead  of  M., 
it  was  all  true.  For  that  Mr.  Randolph  and  L.  had  no  ren 
counter  at  that  time;  but,  after  several  rounds,  late  in  the 
evening,  M.  was  left  alone,  except  one  man  whom  he  held 
by  the  coat  lapelle,  talking  to  him  on  the  same  stage.  This 
is  literally  true. 

"M.,  a  lawyer  of  about  forty  years  of  age,  was  considered 
a  man  of  talents;  though  he  was  always  objected  to  for 
loquacity. 

"  The  landlord  then  explained  his  incredulity.  He  could 
not  believe  that  any  audience  would  desert  Mr.  Randolph, 
although  he  had  not  seen  him  since  he  was  quite  a  youth. 

"He  said:  About  '98,  he  and  several  of  his  neighbors 
were  Federalists.  They  held  a  social  club  at  his  house: 
dinner  was  being  prepared  and  the  gentlemen  assembling, 
when  two  striplings  came  up. walking  and  called  for  dinner. 
The  club  being  assembled  in  a  private  apartment,  the  boys 
called  him  off  frequently  to  attend  to  them ;  and  seeing  that 
they  were  genteel  and  intelligent,  he  asked  permission  to 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  15 

invite  them  to  participate  in  the  proceedings.  They  said 
very  little  and  were  modest  all  the  time. 

"  After  dinner,  the  company,  with  a  cooler  of  wine,  retired 
to  a  shade  back  of  the  house,  and  commenced  talking  poli 
tics  very  heartily.  All  made  speeches  in  turn,  and  at  last 
the  landlord.  When  he  had  finished,  one  of  the  boys  rose 
on  his  feet  before  him.  He  did  not  know  which  side  he 
would  advocate;  but,  as  he  was  not  accustomed  to  public 
speaking,  he  feared  the  young  gentleman  had  risen  against 
him.  He  raised  his  eyes  slowly  from  the  feet  of  those  boys 
to  the  eyes  of  the  one  on  foot  and  before  him.  He  said,  the 
moment  he  saw  it,  he  was  sure  the  d — 1  was  in  it;  and  he 
placed  his  eyes  again  on  the  ground,  and  there  let  them 
remain  until  the  shower  was  over. 

"  Shortly  afterwards,  the  company  dispersed,  and  he  found 
that  the  boy  who  stood  before  him  was  John  Randolph, 
and  the  other  John  Thompson,  on  a  stroll,  he  believed,  on 
foot,  over  the  mountains.  He  remarked  that  such  a  storm 
had  never  fallen  on  his  head,  as  did  on  that  occasion ;  and 
although  he  had  not  heard  him  or  seen  him  afterwards; 
yet  he  had  heard  of  him,  and  could  scarcely  have  believed 
his  own  eyes,  if  he  had  seen  a  youth  get  the  better  of  him, 
or  an  audience  desert  him  to  the  extent  described  by  the 
stranger  from  Norfolk." 

Apropos  of  the  same  subject — we  mean  Mr.  Randolph's 
eyes,  we  will  make  an  extract  from  the  "  School-boy  Remi 
niscences  of  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke,"  by  the  late  Wil 
liam  H.  Elliott,  of  Charlotte  county,  Virginia.  They  were 
written  many  years  ago  for  the  press;  but  the  author,  as 
soon  as  he  was  acquainted  with  the  fact  that  we  were  gath 
ering  materials  for  the  present  volume,  generously  donated 
them  to  us,  and  we  promise  the  reader  to  make  frequent  use 
of  his  valuable  manuscript.  Mr.  Elliott  is  a  man  of  decided 


16  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

genius,  whose  prose  is  only  equalled  by  his  beautiful  lines  in 
verse. 

"The  Rev.  Dr.  R.,"  says  Mr.  Elliott,  " taught  a  classical 
school  in  the  county  of  Charlotte,  about  fifteen  miles  from 
Roanoke,  the  residence  of  Mr.  Randolph.  Here  I  must 
observe,  by  the  way,  that  this  Dr.  R.  was  one  of  the  ripest 
scholars  and  one  of  the  most  conscientious  and  thorough 
instructors  of  youth  that  ever  engaged  in  that  arduous  and 
responsible  vocation. 

"Among  the  pupils  of  this  school  was  the  writer  and 
Theoderick  Tudor  Randolph,  a  nephew  of  him  of  Roanoke. 
The  school  was  divided  into  two  classes,  one  of  which  pro 
nounced  orations  every  alternate  Friday  evening.  One  class 
was  named  the  Henrian,  after  the  deceased  orator  of  Red 
Hill ;  the  other,  the  Randolphian,  after  the  then  living  Ran 
dolph.  The  speeches  were  wholly  at  second  hand — short 
extracts  committed  to  memory  from  some  British  or  Ameri 
can  orator.  On  speaking  evenings  it  was  usual  for  the 
family,  and  company,  if  there  was  any,  to  gather  into  the 
schoolroom  to  witness  the  performance.  It  so  happened 
on  one  Friday  evening  that  there  were  some  visitors,  and 
Mr.  Randolph  among  them.  To  speak  before  a  common 
place  crowd  was  a  thing  we  had  gotten  quite  accustomed  to, 
and  could  go  through  with  without  having  the  nerves ;  but 
to  speak  before  Mr.  Randolph  was  insupportable,  intolera 
ble,  annihilating.  The  class  in  a  body  implored  Dr.  R.  to 
excuse  them  from  speaking  on  this  occasion ; — but  no,  speak 
we  must.  The  very  reason  we  wished  to  be  excused  was 
his  reason  for  ruling  us  up  to  it. 

"The  company  was  introduced,  occupying  one  side  of  the 
room,  and  the  orators  arranged  on  a  bench  on  the  opposite 
side.  The  writer,  who  was  the  youngest,  and  perhaps  the 
most  timid  of  the  oratorical  corps,  had  to  break  the  ice. 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  17 

The  Doctor  looked  towards  our  quarter,  as  much  as  to  say, 
'  Go  on..'  I  chose  not  to  take  the  hint,  because  I  had  not 
finished  screwing  my  courage  up  to  the  speaking  point. — 
Dr.  R.  in  the  meantime  filling  up  the  awkward  interval  with 
some  commonplace  remarks  to  Mr.  Randolph.  But,  all 
suspense  must  end  somehow  or  other.  At  length  our  dom- 
inee  looked  towards  us  with  a  stern  expression — '  time  for 
exercises  to  commence.'  It  was  time  to  move  now,  live  or 
die.  I  rose,  advanced  a  step  or  two  on  the  floor,  and  made 
my  bow,  without  venturing  to  look  directly  at  him.  I  saw 
that  Mr.  Randolph  returned  my  bow,  though  no  one  else 
did.  I  regarded  all  the  rest  of  the  company  as  only  so 
many  saplings  in  the  woods.  It  may  well  be  supposed  that 
I  commenced  in  a  very  tremulous  manner;  for  I  imagined 
he  was  stabbing  me  through  and  through  with  his  perforat 
ing  dirk-like  gaze.  After  twisting  and  wriggling  about  for 
some  minutes  like  a  worm  in  the  focus  of  a  sun-glass,  I  ven 
tured  to  raise  my  eyes  to  him,  and  to  my  inexpressible  com 
fort  and  encouragement,  I  found  that  he  had  un-Randolphed 
himself,  pro  tern.  That  is  to  say,  by  quenching  his  eyes,, 
looking  down  on  the  floor,  and  assuming  a  listless,  uncriti- 
cising  air,  he  had  diluted  himself  in  the  crowd  around  him. 

"  All  this,  I  have  since  thought,  was  done  to  lessen,  if  pos 
sible,  the  embarrassment  of  the  speakers;  for  he  saw  intui 
tively  that  his  presence  was  oppressive.  But,  at  that  time, 
when  I  saw  him  look  so  humble,  I  fancied  I  was  getting  the 
better  of  him.  While  I  had  him  down,  I  poured  it  upon 
him ;  my  enthusiasm  rose,  and  I  fairly  deluged  him  with  a 
cataract  of  Fox's  eloquence.  When  I  concluded,  he  seemed 
to  come  partially  to  life;  looked  up  with  a  pleased  expres 
sion,  as  much  as  to  say,  'That  does  pretty  well.' 

"  At  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  affair,  he  arose  and  col 
lectively  complimented  the  young  gentlemen  on  their  credit- 


18  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

able  performance ;  but  thinking,  no  doubt,  he  had  witnessed 
a  storm  in  a  puddle,  or  a  tempest  in  a  teapot." 

That  voice  and  that  eye  will  long  be  remembered.  The 
former  is  fresh  in  the  memory  of  those  from  whose  ears 
almost  all  other  sounds  have  died  away,  and  his  "  perforating 
dirk-like  gaze  "  will  be  distinctly  recalled,  when  the  features 
of  the  most  familiar  friends  have  long  been  buried  in  ob 
livion.  Even  now  there  are  those  who  shrink  from  it;  and 
although  Mr.  Randolph  has  been  dead  for  more  than  forty 
years,  there  are  doubtless  some  who  writhe  under  the  torture 
of  his  long,  bony  finger,  which  they  fancy  still  pointing  at 
them.  There  are.  words,  long  buried  in  forgetfulness,  which 
if  whispered  in  the  ears  of  his  victims,  would  cause  them  to 
startle  as  from  a  ghost  of  the  spectred  night.  There  are 
wounds  inflicted  by  him,  still  bleeding;  feelings  harrowed 
up,  which  time  cannot  cure,  wounded  pride  still  drooping 
under  the  effects  of  his  ridicule  and  scorn.  Years  after  he 
had  ceased  to  breathe,  men  would  scarcely  speak  their 
minds,  because  his  image  was  before  them.  So  vivid  was 
the  mental  picture  that  it  overpowered  their  bodily  senses, 
and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  they  could  realize  the  fact  that 
it  was  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke  they  had  put  into  the 
grave  and  covered  over  with  the  sod. 

His  influence  is  still  felt.  The  hoary  heads  of  fraud  and 
corruption,  when  the  name  of  John  Randolph  is  mentioned, 
are  cursed  with  many  a  retrospection.  From  him  they  may 
have  received  their  first  rebuke.  His  terrible  image  is  asso 
ciated  perhaps  with  their  earliest  and  bitterest  recollections. 
And  there  remain  upon  the  stage  of  life,  some  of  his  old 
acquaintances,  who  dwell  with  pleasure  and  pride  upon  the- 
advantage  which  they  derived  from  his  valuable  example. 
For,  while  they  may  be  forced  to  own  that  he  had  many 
faults ;  still  they  recognize  in  him  all  that  is  most  noble  and 


OF   JOHN   RANDOLPH.  19 

manly  in  sentiment,  in  personal  character  and  accomplish 
ments;  and  by  those  who  even  deny  his  claims  to  states 
manship  and  utterly  repudiate  the  controlling  principle  of 
his  political  life,  he  is  held  as  a  model  of  an  orator,  equal  to 
-any  which  the  Republic  has  produced. 


20  HOME     REMINISCENCES 


CHAPTER   III. 

At  Home — House — Diet — Horses — Dogs— English  Prejudices — Conver 
sations — Recollections  of  Wm.  B.  Green,  Esq. — "  Unfortunate  Temper 
of  the  Man" — Interesting  Scene  in  Court  by  Judge  Wood  Bouldin. 

IN  relating  the  anecdotes  and  incidents  which  we  have  in 
relation  to  our  subject,  we  shall  not  aim  at  the  order  in 
which  they  actually  occurred;  when  we  attempt  any  ar 
rangement  at  all,  it  will  be  with  the  view  of  illustrating  more 
fully  some  particular  trait  of  Mr.  Randolph's  character.  But 
even  though  our  incidents  should  be  out  of  time,  we  are 
consoled  by  the  remark  of  Mr.  Sawyer,  who  states  that  "  any 
facts,  circumstances,  or  anecdotes  relating  to  John  Randolph 
are  interesting  and  appropriate  wheresoever  placed."  Mr. 
William  H.  Elliott,  to  whom  the  reader  has  already  been  in 
troduced,  once  said  to  the  writer,  that  "  a  few  pages  of  Ran- 
dolphiana  would  leaven  a  whole  library."  It  might  have 
been  stated  in  the  beginning,  that  far  the  greater  portion  of 
the  matters  and  things  which  we  shall  publish  is  original — 
that  is,  they  have  never  been  in  print  before.  We  deem  it 
proper,  also,  to  inform  the  reader  that  the  individuals  who 
have  furnished  us  information,  reside  or  resided  (for  some  of 
them  have  since  passed  away)  in  the  county  of  Charlotte. 

It  was  in  Charlotte  that  Mr.  Randolph  lived  from  youth  to 
old  age.  At  his  solitary  residence  at  Roanoke  he  consumed 
days  and  nights  in  acquiring  the  knowledge  of  books  by 
which  he  astonished  the  world.  It  was  in  Charlotte  and  the 
other  counties  of  his  congressional  district,  that  he  practiced 


OF   JOHN   RANDOLPH.  21 

the  lessons  which  he  learned  of  men,  with  such  consummate 
.skill.  From  the  people  of  his  adopted  county,  therefore, 
may  be  obtained  a  picture  of  the  man.  They  can  tell  what 
sort  of  neighbor,  friend  and  master  he  was.  From  them  we 
may  best  obtain  a  description  of  his  personal  conduct  and 
manners.  It  would  be  unwise  to  go  to  a  distance  to  obtain 
a  near  view  of  our  subject.  Were  we  writing  the  public  life 
of  Mr.  Randolph,  we  confess  we  should  apply  to  the  great 
men  of  the  nation  for  information,  but  as  we  desire  to  learn 
his  private  character,  we  prefer  a  conversation  with  his  plain 
est  neighbor  of  intelligence  to  one  with  Thomas  H.  Benton 
himself.  The  great  men  saw  him  principally  in  public  and 
on  the  stage ;  his  neighbors  peeped  at  him  behind  the  cur 
tain  ;  and  while  we  shall  make  some  comments  as  we  pro 
ceed  with  our  narrative,  we  have  undertaken  to  furnish  the 
reader  with  materials  to  enable  him  to  form  his  own  opinions. 
Mr.  Bouldin,  in  his  "  Recollections,"  gives  an  interesting 
account  of  a  visit  he  paid  Mr.  Randolph  at  his  home  at 
Roanoke.  We  give  it  to  the  reader  in  his  own  words,  as 
follows : 

While  I  was  a  single  man,  and  quite  young,  Mr.  Randolph  passed  my 
residence,  on  his  way  from  Prince  Edward  to  his  plantation  in  Charlotte, 
where  he  afterwards  resided,  and  where  he  was  buried.  He  said  he 
would  be  lonesome,  and  asked  me  to  go  with  him  and  stay  a  few  days. 
No  white  persons  were  then  residing  there.  I  went  with  him,  and  stayed 
a  week.  It  was  during  the  war.  At  that  time  he  drank  but  little — I 
think  only  wine.  His  manners  were,  during  this  visit,  gentle  and  kind, 
as  they  always  were  when  he  was  quite  sober. 

It  was  not  hunting  season,  and  therefore  we  had  no  hunting ;  but  our 
horses  were  saddled  every  morning,  and  we  rode  out  in  the  plantation,  or 
not,  as  we  liked — together  or  separate,  as  fancy  led.  He  rode  most  fre 
quently  along  the  roads  in  the  woods  which  surrounded  his  house. 

He  was  minutely  attentive  to  all  of  his  household  affairs,  and  his  neat 
ness  and  economy  were  praiseworthy  and  remarkable.  His  diet,  though 


22  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

simple,  was  excellent.  His  dwelling  was  at  that  time  a  single-story  wood' 
building,  with  two  good  rooms  down  stairs,  and  the  roof  had  also  two.. 
He  had  no  unnecessary  furniture,  but  what  he  had  was  of  the  neatest 
kind,  and  generally  of  the  best  materials.  His  breakfast  was  coffee,  but 
ter  and  honey,  with  cold  bacon  ham,  of  the  best  quality,  dressed  in  the 
most  palatable  and  neatest  style.  If  he  retired  to  his  room,  I  did  not 
venture  to  knock  at  his  door ;  and  if  I  retired  to  mine,  he  would  not  call 
on  me  until  I  came  out. 

His  conversation  during  this  visit  was  varied.  His  remarks  on  one 
occasion  were  remarkable  from  their  identity  almost  with  a  conversation 
between  Bonaparte  and  Dr.  O'Meara,  many  years  afterwards. 

He  said :  "  Sooner  or  later  Bonaparte  would  be  put  down,  and  that 
Great  Britain  would  be  the  principal  means  of  doing  it ;  but,  when  she 
did  it,  she  would  require  remuneration  for  her  extra  services  and  expen 
ses,  and  that  she  would  get  it." 

I  asked  him  what  kind  of  remuneration  she  would  get. 

He  said :  "  Various  kinds.  She  would  require  of  Spain  that  she  should 
have  the  exclusive  trade  with  South  America,  for  perhaps  eighty  years,  by 
which  time  she  would  teach  the  people  of  that  country  how  to  rear  all 
the  raw  material  for  her  manufactories  that  she  got  from  us — their  soil  and 
climate  were  better  than  ours  for  that  purpose."  He  said  that  "Spain 
would  grant  it,  and  that  we  would  lose  the  market  for  ours." 

I  think  Bonaparte  told  Dr.  O'Meara  that,  for  not  doing  this  thing,  Lord 
Castlereagh  ought  to  have  been  hanged.  And  when  I  saw  what  Bona 
parte  said,  I  was  struck  with  the  coincidence  of  opinion.  Though 
Randolph  hated  Bonaparte,  there  was  a  remarkable  similarity,  both  in 
expression  and  opinions,  between  them. 

Mr.  Bouldin,  in  his  "Recollections,"  mentions  two  facts, 
which,  he  says,  "  If  they  were  generally  known,  have  not 
generally  been  borne  in  mind  by  those  who  have  spoken 
of  him  and  his  character  and  peculiarities."  The  first  of 
these  facts  we  purpose  now  to  give  the  reader,  reserving 
the  second  for  future  use.  Says  Mr.  Bouldin: 

When  Mr.  Randolph  took  possession  of  his  property,  on  his  attaining 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  it  was  mortgaged  for  fully  as  much  as  it  was. 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  23 

worth.  The  estate  consisted,  I  believe,  of  land  and  slaves  only — perhaps 
some  few  town  lots.  By  the  time,  or  about  the  time,  he  went  to  Russia 
he  paid  off  the  last  of  this  debt  and  interest,  having  in  the  meantime  pur 
chased  nearly  as  much  more  property,  and,  I  believe,  paid  for  it.  It  has 
often  been  said  by  him  and  others,  and  was  generally  reported,  that  his 
estate  was  mortgaged  for  nearly  or  quite  as  much  as  it  was  worth;  but  I 
speak  on  the  authority  of  the  late  John  Wickham,  of  Richmond,  Virginia, 
who  told  me  that  he  had  the  collection  of  most  or  all  of  these  debts,  and 
that,  without  giving  very  long  credits,  the  property,  if  sold,  would  not 
have  paid  them.  As  to  Mr.  Wickham,  his  character  is  so  generally 
known,  that  it  needs  not  anything  that  I  could  say  to  give  his  words  or 
his  judgment  credit.  Gratitude,  however,  for  unexpected  kindness,  as 
gently  and  warmly  bestowed  as  if  I  had  either  merited  or  had  a  right  to 
demand  it,  impels  me  to  pay  some  tribute  to  his  memory.  I  say,  unex 
pected  kindness,  for  I  was  from  rumor  impressed  firmly  with  the  belief 
that  he  was  cold  and  selfish.  I  was  surprised,  therefore,  to  find  him  warm 
and  generous.  I  say,  if  I  had  merited  it,  because  no  man  merits  the 
kindness  of  another  who  suffers  such  impressions  to  take  hold  on  him  from 
mere  rumor,  or  from  the  prejudices  of  others.  A  more  manly,  noble, 
kind-hearted  man  I  never  knew;  a  more  social,  cordial,  jovial  fireside 
companion  I  never  saw.  As  to  his  talents,  few,  if  any,  in  this  country, 
have  surpassed  him  at  the  bar  or  as  a  practical  farmer. 

Mr.  Randolph,  having  no  other  resources  but  the  proceeds  of  his 
crops,  and  the  sale  of  a  few  horses  of  his  own  raising,  and  a  portion  of 
his  slaves  at  first,  paid  his  mortgage  debt  and  purchased  much  other  pro 
perty.  Need  any  comment  be  made  as  to  his  practical  skill  and  judgment 
in  business  ? 

Shortly  after  Mr.  Randolph  came  to  the  county  of  Char 
lotte  to  reside,  Miss  Francenia  Bouldin  paid  a  visit  to  Roa- 
noke.  Judge  Beverley  Tucker,  his  half  brother,  had  resided 
there  for  some  time  previous,  as  master  of  ceremonies.  It  is 
scarcely  necessary  to  state  that  Miss  Bouldin  remembered 
some  things  that  transpired  on  that  occasion.  We  envy  not 
the  intellectual  treasures  of  the  individual  who  came  out  of 
such  company  having  received  no  lasting  impression. 

Mr.   Randolph's  conversation   is   represented   as   having 


24  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

been  highly  entertaining,  though  it  was  rather  on  the 
"  teaching  order."  Miss  Bouldin  thought  he  would  have 
been  still  more  agreeable,  if  he  had  not  been  in  a  perpetual 
strain.  He  seemed  to  be  in  a  stretch  during  the  whole  time. 
She  felt  as  if  she  would  like  for  him  to  unbend  himself 
occasionally. 

From  a  walk  in  the  garden,  the  ladies  came  in  with  some 
heads  of  rye,  which  they  were  examining. 

"Ladies,"  said  he,  "I  wish  you  better  employment." 

Mr.  Tucker  was  caressing  his  pointer.  "Sir,"  said  Mr. 
Randolph,  "You  must  never  play  with  the  thing  you  wish 
to  command." 

When  dinner  was  announced,  Mr.  Randolph  was  not  pre 
sent.  Mr.  Tucker  took  the  foot,  as  usual,  and  they  w^ere  all 
seated  at  the  table  when  Mr.  Randolph  made  his  appear 
ance.  Mr.  Tucker  rose,  saying,  "We  did  as  you  told  us, 
sir;"  and  resumed  his  seat. 

While  they  were  at  the  table,  Mr.  Peter  Randolph  came 
in.  Mr.  John  Randolph  then  seemed  somewhat  freer  in  his 
conversation. 

"Peter,"  he  remarked,  "you  see  I  have  not  forgotten  how 
to  drink  old  Madeira." 

"  It  would  be  very  strange,"  replied  Mr.  Peter  Randolph, 
"if  one  so  well  versed  in  the  practice  should  forget  it." 

Mr.  Randolph  was  always  at  work  for  or  against  the  feel 
ings  of  others.  This  trait  is  illustrated  by  a  curious  little 
manoeuvre  which  we  hardly  expected  of  this  great  person 
age. 

During  the  same  visit  of  Miss  Francenia  Bouldin,  to  which 
we  have  alluded,  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Holt  Rice  came  to  Roa- 
noke.  At  meals,  Mr.  Tucker  had  invariably  occupied  the 
foot  of  the  table  until  Saturday,  which  was  the  day  of  Mr. 
Rice's- arrival, — then  Mr.  Randolph  took  the  foot.  He  did 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  25 

not  return  thanks  himself,  nor  did  he  invite  the  reverend 
gentleman,  his  guest,  to  do  so,  and  it  was  generally  under 
stood  that  he  had  no  other  object  in  view  but  to  prevent 
grace  being  said  by  the  minister. 

Why  he  should  desire  to  prevent  a  blessing  being  asked 
on  this  occasion  may  be  a  matter  of  conflicting  speculation ; 
but,  in  the  opinion  of  Miss  Bouldin,  he  merely  wished  to 
jnake  Dr.  Rice  feel  himself  checked  and  handled.  He 
really  had  no  spite  against  the  religious  ceremony,  but,  inas 
much  as  Dr.  Rice  occupied  a  conspicuous  place  in  the 
•community — was  in  fact  one  of  the  most  talented  men  in  the 
county — he  wanted  him  to  understand  he  did  not  mean  to 
be  under  him,  and  he  chose  to  take  this  singular  way  of 
-showing  it. 

The  following  is  from  the  manuscript  of  Mr.  W.  B.  Green, 
a  resident  of  Charlotte  county,  who  was  well  acquainted 
with  Mr.  Randolph.  His  recollections  were  written  in  the 
year  1866,  at  our  special  request — not  without  reluctance, 
however,  because,  as  he  said,  much  that  he  was  compelled 
to  state  is  personal  to  himself.  They  are  not  the  less  valu 
able  and  interesting  to  the  reader,  however,  who  doubtless 
will  be  glad  to  learn  something  of  the  inner  life  of  a  most 
eccentric  genius  from  such  an  authentic  source.  He  says: 

Mr.  Randolph  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  the  house  of  Captain  William 
M.  Watkins.  He  was  fond  of  horses,  dogs  and  guns;  and  whenever  he 
made  a  visit  he  brought  some  of  his  dogs  with  him,  and  they  were  suffered 
to  poke  their  noses  into  everything  and  to  go  where  they  pleased,  from 
kitchen  to  parlor.  They  were  a  great  annoyance  to  ladies  and  house 
keepers.  This,  however,  was  obliged  to  be  quietly  submitted  to,  as  any 
unkind  treatment  to  his  dogs  would  have  been  regarded  as  an  insult  to 
himself. 

Very  early  in  life,  and  before  I  knew  him,  he  had  imported  English 
stallions  and  blooded  mares,  and  at  all  times  had  a  large  number  on  hand. 
He  occasionally  put  horses  on  the  turf;  but  he  was  generally  unsuccessful. 


26  HOME     REMINISCENCES 

Speaking  of  horses,  I  may  be  permitted  to  mention  an  occurrence  which 
took  place  at  an  early  period,  and  which  may  be  considered  characteristic. 

It  was  court  day  and  in  the  afternoon  he  offered  for  sale  at  public 
auction  one  of  his  best  stallions.  If  I  am  not  mistaken,  it  was  Roanoke,. 
by  the  celebrated  horse  Old  Sir  Archie,  and  out  of  Lady  Bunsbury.  For 
a  considerable  time  after  the  horse  was  put  up  there  was  no  bid  made ; 
but,  at  length,  Hugh  Wyllie,  Esq.,  the  owner  of  the  celebrated  race  horse 
Marske,  bid  fifty  pounds.  Mr.  Randolph  was  very  indignant  at  so  small 
a  bid;  and  turning  fiercely  on  Mr.  Wyllie,  looking  him  full  in  the  face,, 
said:  "  Do  you,  Sir,  bid  fifty  pounds  for  a  horse  that  pushed  Marske  up  to 
the  throat-latch?"  There  was  a  dead  silence;  no  one  spoke  a  word. 
The  horse  was  led  off  the  yard. 

While  I  am  on  horses  I  will  mention  another  incident  equally  charac 
teristic. 

You  have  doubtless  heard  of  the  great  match  race  between  Eclipse  and 
Henry — the  North  against  the  South.  Mr.  Randolph  attended  the  race. 
Just  as  the  horses  were  about  to  start,  a  stranger  stepped  up  to  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  and  offered  to  bet  five  hundred  dollars  on  Eclipse.  "  Done,"  said 
Randolph.  "  Colonel  Thompson  will  hold  the  stakes,"  replied  the  stran 
ger.  "  Who  will  hold  Colonel  Thompson?"  said  Mr.  Randolph. 

Randolph  saw  the  trap,  and  gobbled  up  Colonel,  Thompson's  friend 
without  mercy. 

After  Mr.  Randolph's  death  his  fine  stud  of  blooded  horses  were  sold 
by  auction  at  high  prices;  many  of  them  were  purchased  by  gentlemen 
who  resided  out  of  the  State. 

Mr.  Green  continues: 

Although  I  had  occasionally  seen  Mr.  Randolph  when  I  resided  at  the 
Court-house,  I  did  not  make  his  acquaintance  until  after  my  removal  to 
Captain  Watkins's,  which  was  in  September,  1807.  Here  I  had  an  oppor 
tunity  of  frequently  meeting  him,  both  in  public  and  in  a  private  family. 
He  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  the  house  of  Captain  Watkins,  where  I  then 
boarded  and  where  I  continued  to  board  for  many  years  after. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  I  at  a  later  period  incurred  the  displeasure 
of  Mr.  Randolph,  I  must  acknowledge  that  during  the  early  part  of  our 
acquaintance  he  was  polite  and  kind. 

Not  long  after  I  went  to  live  at  Captain  Watkins's,  I  had  a  severe  spell 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  2T 

of  bilious  fever  which  confined  me  to  my  room  for  six  weeks  or  more.  I 
was  very  low.  During  my  illness  Mr.  Randolph  paid  me  a  visit.  His 
suggestions  in  relation  to  diet  and  his  encouraging  conversation  and  sym 
pathy  were  very  grateful  to  my  feelings. 

When  I  first  knew  him  he  was  about  thirty-five  or  thirty-six  years  of 
age.  He  was  then  a  Republican,  and  hated  Federalism  with  a  perfect 
hatred.  But,  notwithstanding  this,  he  was  always  regarded,  in  heart  and 
'in  sentiment,  an  Englishman  to  the  core.  In  his  earlier  speeches  he  was 
guilty  of  what  might  be  considered  as  bad  taste  at  the  present  day,  namely, 
too  frequently  quoting  and  making  allusions  to  English  authors — Milton, 
Shakspeare,  Tillotson,  Sherlock,  Burke,  and  so  on.  The  coincidence  of 
manner  and  thought  between  the  speeches  of  Mr.  Randolph  and  the  writ 
ings  of  Lawrence  Sterne  has  always  appeared  to  my  mind  so  striking  that 
I  have  not  been  able  to  resist  the  belief  that  he  had,  without  making  the 
acknowledgment,  appropriated  the  manner  and  thought  of  that  great 
writer.  But  however  this  may  have  been,  I  am  free  to  acknowledge  that, 
in  my  poor  judgment,  Mr.  Randolph  was  by  far  the  greatest  and  most 
interesting  speaker  I  have  ever  heard  or  ever  expect  to  hear.  )( 

About  this  time  our  difficulties  with  England  had  greatly  increased — 
war  became  probable ;  the  administration  resorted  to  measures  of  restric 
tion  upon  commerce,  such  as  embargo  and  non-intercourse  laws.  On  these 
measures  Mr.  Randolph  took  strong  grounds  against  the  administration. 
The  consequence  was,  that  at  the  next  congressional  election  he  was  op 
posed  by  John  W.  Eppes,  who  was  the  son-in-law  of  Thomas  Jefferson. 
In  due  time  the  election  came  on.  Mr.  Eppes  brought  with  him  from 
Washington  what  was  called  a  cart-load  of  authorities,  laid  the  books  on 
the  stile  in  front  of  the  court-house — large  tomes  and  documents,  such  as 
had  never  been  seen  by  the  natives.  This  was  about  fifty-five  years  ago. 
There  was  an  immense  crowd  present.  Natives  and  foreigners  from  all 
the  surrounding  and  adjoining  counties  came  to  hear  Mr.  Randolph  speak 
and  to  see  the  son-in-law  of  Thomas  Jefferson. 

Eppes  led  off  from  the  stile,  knee-deep  in  books  and  documents.  He 
was  rather  a  dull  speaker— read  too  much,  and  fatigued  the  people.  Mr. 
Randolph  in  reply  remarked  that  "  the  gentleman  is  a  very  good  reader." 
His  wit  and  humor  soon  caused  interruption  by  some  of  the  injudicious 
and  impulsive  friends  of  Mr.  .Eppes;  Colonel  Gideon  Spencer  was  the 
first  who  interrupted  him.  High  words  ensued ;  the  excitement  was  be- 


"28  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

yond  anything  I  ever  witnessed;  the  crowd  seemed  to  apprehend  a  colli 
sion  of  parties.  Some  friend  of  Mr.  Randolph  hallooed  out,  "  Stand  firm 
and  keep  cool,"  or  something  to  that  effect ;  then  we  have  the  reply  of 
Mr.  Randolph  which  has  been  so  often  repeated  that  it  has  become  stale, 
"I  am  as  cool  as  the  centre  seed  of  a  cucumber." 

Mr.  Randolph  remained  on  the  court-yard  for  some  time  after  the 
speaking  was  over.  The  excitement  was  even  greater  than  before.  Mr. 
Randolph  at  that  time  had  an  overseer  by  the  name  of  P.,  a  large,  rough, 
Taw-boned  man,  head  and  shoulders  above  the  crowd.  This  man  P., 
with  a  large  horseman's  whip  in  his  hand,  held  in  a  threatening  attitude, 
followed  Mr.  Randolph  through  the  crowd,  which  was  waving  to  and 
fro,  insisting  that  Mr.  Randolph  would  be  attacked  and  that  he  should  be 
protected;  while  Randolph,  on  his  part,  directed  P.  to  keep  quiet.  The 
day,  however,  passed  without  disturbance. 

In  due  time  the  congressional  election  came  on,  and  I  voted  for  Eppes. 
Mr.  Randolph  was  defeated.  He  had  proclaimed,  not  only  in  Congress, 
1>ut  elsewhere,  "  that  he  was  descended  from  a  race  who  never  forgot  or 
forgave  an  injury."*  He  certainly  did  not  often  forgive.  I  must  remark, 
however,  that  the  vote  given  for  Eppes  was  not  my  only  offence.  On  the 
revision  of  the  State  Constitution,  I  voted  for  James  Bruce,  the  elder,  in 
stead  of  .Randolph.  In  1828  I  was  a  member  of  the  Anti-Jackson  Con 
vention,  and  used  my  best  efforts  for  the  election  of  J.  Q.  Adams.  Mr. 
Randolph,  in  writing  to  his  friends  in  Washington,  stated  that  we  were  all 
for  Jackson ;  the  result  of  the  election  in  Charlotte  showed  that  he  was 
mistaken,  although  the  majority  was  large. 

In  addition  to  this,  I  had  the  misfortune,  at  a  later  time,  to  come  in  con 
tact  with  Mr.  Randolph  in  matters  of  business,  the  settlement  of  which 
might  not  have  been  satisfactory  to  him.  I  will  mention  two  of  the  cases. 
There  was  a  very  unpleasant,  I  might  say  angry,  controversy  between  Mr. 
Randolph  and  Robert  Carrington  on  the  subject  of  roads  and  right  of 


*The  following  is  copied  from  a  memorandum  in  Mr.  Randolph's  own 
words : 

"  Pocahontas  (whose  true  name  was  Matoaca),  baptized  by  the  name  of 
Rebecca,  married  John  Rolfe,  Esq.,  and  left  an  only  son,  Thomas,  whose 
only  daughter  married  Robert  Boiling,  of  Boiling  Hall,  West  Riding,  of 
York,  who  left  a  son,  John  Boiling,  one  of  whose  daughters  married  Rich 
ard  Randolph,  of  Curies,  whose  youngest  son,  John  Randolph,  of  Roa- 
noke,  married  Frances  Bland.  Your  humble  servant  is  one  of  the  only 
surviving  issue  of  that  marriage,  and  sixth  in  descent  from  Pocahontas." 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  29" 

way.  Under  an  order  of  the  County  Court  of  Charlotte  the  late  Dennis 
E.  Morgan,  Captain  Fowlkes,  and  myself,  were  directed  to  view  the  road 
and  report  to  Court.  The  case  was  a  plain  one,  admitting  of  no  sort  of 
doubt  whatever.  The  commissioners  went  upon  the  road,  and  found 
pasted  up  on  a  gate-post  a  large  sheet  of  foolscap  paper,  giving  notice  that 
all  persons  whose  names  were  written  thereon  were  permitted  to  pass, 
through  the  plantation  and  use  the  road  as  formerly.  The  paper  was  filled 
from  top  to  bottom  with  names,  male  and  female;  and  it  was  read  over 
and  closely  examined,  to  see  if  anyone  in  the  neighborhood,  either  male 
or  female,  who  had  used  the  road,  or  who  might  probably  wish  to  do  so, 
had  been  omitted;  and  it  was  found  from  this  examination  that  Robert 
Carrington's  name  only  was  omitted.  The  land  through  which  this 
road  passed  was  not  a  part  of  his  homestead,  but  a  small  tract  then  re 
cently  purchased  of  Dr.  Bouldin.  The  report  of  the  commissioners,  in 
substance,  was,  that  the  land  through  which  the  road  ran  was  exceedingly 
poor  and  of  but  little  value;  that  the  road  had  been  in  constant  use,  as 
a  mill  and  neighborhood  road,  for  about  fifty  years;  and  that  it  had  been 
interdicted  to  Robert  Carrington  only. 

I  will  mention  another  case,  somewhat  similar  to  the  one  above.  Un 
der  a  decree  of  the  county  court,  Joseph  M.  Daniel,  myself  and  others 
(names  not  now  recollected),  were  ordered  to  make  sale  of  a  tract  of 
land  adjoining  the  lands  of  Mr.  Randolph,  which  belonged  to  the  heirs  of 
a  Mr.  Lipscomb.  The  land  was  sold  at  public  auction,  and  Mr.  Randolph 
was  the  purchaser.  As  soon  as  the  land  was  knocked  off,  Mr.  Randolph, 
somewhat  excited,  stepped  up  to  me  hastily  with  his  long  strides  and  said, 
"  Mr.  Green,  you  cannot  call  this  real  estate"  And  then  said,  "  My  at 
torney  or  agent,  Mr.  Leigh,  will  have  a  deed  written  and  will  pay  you  the 
money  at  next  court."  I  told  him  that  would  be  entirely  satisfactory. 
Whether  the  land  could  be  called  real  estate  or  not,  it  sold  for  at  least 
double  its  value.  But,  when  I  saw  Mr.  Leigh  (now  Judge  Leigh)  he  re 
quested  me  to  delay  making  a  report,  saying  that  Mr.  Randolph  enter 
tained  doubts  as  to  whether  the  title  would  be  good  under  the  circumstan 
ces,  the  land  having  sold  for  more  than  three  hundred  dollars  for  each 
child  or  legatee.  I  felt  quite  confident,  however,  that  Mr.  Leigh  enter 
tained  no  such  doubt,  but  was  simply  acting  under  instructions.  I  felt 
bound,  in  accordance  with  the  decree  of  the  court,  to  report  the  sale  of 
the  land,  and  did  so  immediately — stating  that  Mr.  Randolph  having  left 


30  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

the  county,  and  Mr.  Leigh  having  declined  to  pay  the  purchase  'money, 
no  deed  had  been  made.  On  this  transaction  I  may  remark,  that  the  land 
had  been  appraised  according  to  law,  and  all  the  necessary  forms  gone 
through  before  the  sale,  and  consequently  the  objection  made  on  account 
of  title  was  a  mere  pretext  for  delay.  The  explanation  is  simply  this : 
There  was  an  old  man  in  the  neighborhood  whom  Mr.  Randolph  called 
"the  old  turkey  and  'coon  hunter,"  who  had  greatly  annoyed  him  by 
hunting  on  his  plantation.  This  man,  B.,  was  the  only  bidder  against 
Randolph.  The  land  was  exceedingly  poor,  and,  to  Mr.  Randolph, 
worthless.  It  was  purchased  solely  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  out  a 
disagreeable  neighbor.  Knowing  that  he  had  made  a  bad  bargain,  and 
having  no  use  for  the  land,  he  determined  to  carry  the  matter  into  court. 
The  court,  however,  decided  against  him,  and  ordered  the  money  to  be 
paid,  which  was  accordingly  done.  I  mention  these  transactions  to  show 
the  unfortunate  temper  of  the  man. 

I  have  now  mentioned  in  detail  everything  that  I  can  recollect  that  in 
the  slightest  degree  was  calculated  to  provoke  or  irritate  Mr.  Randolph. 
And  what  does  it  all  amount  to  ?  Simply  this :  That  on  two  occasions,  I 
had  voted  for  other  gentlemen  rather  than  for  him;  that  in  1828,  I  voted 
for  Adams  rather  than  for  Jackson,  and  had  also,  in  two  business  transac 
tions,  made  reports  to  the  County  court  which  might  be  considered  ad 
verse  to  him.  This  was  all. 

It  was,  I  think,  shortly  after  the  election  of  the  State  Convention,  when 
I  voted  for  James  Bruce  and  General  Carrington  and  others,  that  Mr. 
Randolph  approached  my  old  friend  and  partner,  Captain  Watkins,  for 
the  purpose  of  breaking  up  the  mercantile  business  so  long  carried  on  by 
us,  and  conducted  by  myself.  He  opened  the  subject  by  sending  a  note 
to  the  Captain  to  borrow  a  few  nails,  saying  that  he  "  did  not  wish  to  have 
anything  to  do  with  Mr.  Green;"  and  subsequently,  in  conversation  with 
Captain  Watkins,  he  remarked  that  he  thought  it  strange  that  Captain 
Watkins  would  continue  business  with  a  man  who  had  always  differed  in 
politics  with  him. 

Mr.  Randolph  regarded  a  difference  of  opinion  a  sufficient  cause  for 
severing  business  connections.  The  Captain  was  of  a  different  opinion. 

These  facts  were  derived  from  Captain  Watkins  himself. 

But,  notwithstanding  all  that  I  have  related,  I,  at  no  time  of  my  life, 
suffered  myself  to  indulge  in  bitter  and  relentless  feelings  towards  Mr. 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  31 

Randolph,  being  always  disposed  to  make  due  allowances  for  the  unfor 
tunate  temperament  of  the  man.  And  moreover,  1  have  the  pleasure  to 
know  that  some  time  before  his  death,  his  intolerant  and  vindictive  feel 
ings  towards  me  had  become  considerably  modified. 

Mr.  Randolph  once  ordered  all  his  negroes  to  pull  fodder 
on  the  Sabbath.  The  grand  jury  were  considering  the  ques 
tion  of  presenting  him.  The  Hon.  Judge  Wood  Bouldin, 
late  judge  of  the  Virginia  Supreme  Court  of  Appeals,  who 
was  an  eye-witness  to  the  scene  in  court,  furnished  us  with 
the  following  interesting  sketch  of  what  transpired,  which, 
while  it  portrays  the  character  of  our  subject,  illustrates  the 
firmness  and  devotion  to  duty  of  one  of  the  purest  judges 
that  our  State  has  produced — we  refer  to  the  late  William 
Leigh,  of  Halifax. 

The  scene  described  occurred  in  the  circuit  court  for  the 
•county  of  Charlotte.  Judge  Bouldin  writes  : 

I  was  present  in  court  at  the  time,  and  heard  what  passed. 

The  grand  jury  had  called  up  the  subject  in  their  room,  and  the  late 
John  Marshall,  who  happened  to  be  a  guest  of  Mr.  Randolph,  and  heard 
the  order  given  to  the  slaves,  was  summoned  to  prove  the  offence.  He 
positively  refused  to  answer,  because,  as  he  alleged,  he  was  Mr.  Ran 
dolph's  guest,  and  what  took  place  under  such  circumstances,  in  his  pres 
ence,  was  deemed  sacred  among  gentlemen;  and  voluntarily  to  divulge  it 
would  be  an  act  of  dishonor,  and  in  gross  violation  of  the  decencies  and 
proprieties  of  social  intercourse.  The  grand  jury  said  they  could  not  be 
governed  by  such  a  consideration  in  the  discharge  of  their  legal  duty. 
Mr.  Marshall  still  refusing  to  answer,  the  jury,  through  their  foreman,  ap 
pealed  to  the  court  (Judge  Leigh).  The  judge,  without  a  moment's 
hesitation,  announced  that  a  guest,  however  unpleasant  his  situation  might 
be,  could  claim  no  such  privilege  as  that  asserted  by  Mr.  Marshall,  and 
ordered  him  to  answer. 

Mr.  Marshall  returned  to  the  jury  room,  and  about  that  time  Mr.  Ran 
dolph,  in  his  English  coach — a  very  clumsy  vehicle,  by  the  way — drawn 
by  four  blooded  horses,  drove  rapidly  into  the  village,  and  stopped  imme- 


32  HOME     REMINISCENCES 

diately  in  front  of  the  court-house.  He  came  directly  into  the  court-room, 
and  took  his  seat  in  front  of  the  bar,  between  that  and  the.jury  bench,  and 
almost  immediately  in  front  of  the  judge.  As  he  took  his  seat,  Mr.  Mar 
shall,  who  had  just  come  down  from  the  jury  room,  approached  him.  Mr^ 
Randolph,  in  one  of  his  peculiar  half-whispers,  which  penetrated  every 
portion  of  the  court-room,  and  which  was  heard  as  plainly  as  if  spoken  in 
the  loudest  tone,  said  to  him :  "  I  understand  I  am  to  be  presented,  sir,, 
and  I  have  come  to  make  my  own  defence."  Mr.  Marshall  immediately 
replied  that  the  matter  had  been  dropped  by  the  jury,  and  he  would  hear 
no  more  of  it. 

Mr.  Marshall,  when  sent  back  to  the  jury  with  orders  to  answer,  had 
referred  io  the  Revised  Code  of  1819,  the  then  law  of  the  court,  and 
ascertained  that  the  act  of  each  slave  was  a  separate  offence,  and  the  pen 
alty  only  $1.67,  being  below  the  jurisdiction  of  the  circuit  court.  The 
grand  jury  being  satisfied  on  reference  to  the  statute  that  they  had  no- 
jurisdiction  -of  the  offence,  abandoned  the  investigation,  and  thus  the 
presentment  was  not  made. 

The  foreman  of  that  jury,  if  my  memory  is  not  at  fault,  was  Mr.  E.  W. 
Henry,  and  he  is  still  alive — the  last  of  the  sons  of  Patrick  Henry. 

In  order  to  let  Mr.  Marshall  know  the  line  of  argument 
he  intended  to  pursue,  Mr.  Randolph  remarked  privately  to 
him:  "The  Bible  justified  a  man  in  pulling  his  ox  out  of 
the  mire  on  the  Sabbath.  How  do  they  know  which  is  the 
Sabbath  ?  The  Jews  keep  the  seventh  day  and  we  keep  the 
first.  Besides,  if  I  hadn't  pulled  my  fodder  when  I  did,  I 
should  have  been  pulling  the  damned  oxen  out  of  the  mire 
every  Sabbath  through  the  year." 

After  this,  we  are  told,  some  of  the  preachers  in  the  county 
thought  it  necessary  to  prove  to  their  congregations  that 
they  were  keeping  the  right  day. 

For  the  following  incident  we  are  indebted  to  Miss  Mary 
Bouldin.  It  is  related  to  show  in  what  terror  Mr.  Randolph 
was  held  by  the  negroes  of  the  neighborhood : 

Mr.  Randolph  was  on  his  way  to  one  of  his  quarters,  in- 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  33 

tending,  it  is  thought,  to  surprise  the  overseer.     Such  a  step 
was  in  keeping  with  his  character. 

He  went  by  way  of  Judge  Thomas  T.  Bouldin's,  who  hap 
pened  not  to  be  at  home.  Seeing  a  negro  in  the  yard,  he 
hailed  him.  The  negro  paid  no  attention,  not  having  heard 
him,  or  not  recognizing  his  voice.  He  called  again,  in 
quiring  if  there  was  any  way  through  to  his  plantation. 
Hambleton  (for  that  was  the  name  of  the  negro)  informed 
him  there  was  no  way  through  without  pulling  down  fences ; 
that  if  he  pulled  them  down  he  must  put  them  up.  "  And 
there  is  Jack  Randolph,"  said  he,  "on  the  other  side,  who 
allows  nobody  to  pass  through  his  plantation." 

"I'll  have  you  to  know  that  I  am  Jack  Randolph  myself, 
sir,  and  that  I  neither  pull  down  fences  nor  put  them  up..  If 
your  master  were  at  home,  you  would  not  talk  to  me  after 
that  style." 

Hambleton  by  this  time  became  alarmed.  He  was  one  of 
those  persons  who  could  never  be  awed ;  but  he  was  scared 
outright;  affrighted  nearly  to  death.  He  meditated  flight, 
but  he  was  afraid  Mr.  Randolph  would  shoot  him.  At  last 
he  mustered  up  courage  to  go  up  to  him ;  and  by  way  of 
apology  he  told  him  he  mistook  him  for  an  overseer. 

"Sir,"  replied  Mr.  Randolph,  "you  knew  better." 
Hambleton  went  with  him  to  pull  down  the  fences.   When 
they  arrived  at  a  small  stream,  presenting  some  difficulty,  he 
offered  to  take  hold  of  Mr.  Randolph's  horse. 

"  No  man  takes  hold  of  my  steed  when  I  am  on  him,"  re 
plied  Mr.  Randolph. 

It  was  thought  that  nothing  could  have  been  more  grate 
ful  to  the  feelings  of  Mr.  Randolph  than  to  have  been  told, 
in  the  way  he  was,  that  "  there's  Jack  Randolph  on  the  other 
side,  who  allows  nobody  to  pass  through  his  plantation." 


34  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

He  liked  to  have  the  assurance  that  all  the  negroes  in  the 
neighborhood  were  dreadfully  afraid  of  him.  To  have  heard 
this  scene  described  by  Hambleton  himself,  we  are  told,  was 
highly  interesting.  From  time  to  time,  for  several  years,  he 
was  required  by  the  neighbors  to  repeat  it  over  and  over, 
and  they  never  ceased  to  be  amused. 


OF  JOHN   RANDOLPH.  35 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Devotion  to  Old  Things — Good  Fortune — Electioneering  among  the 
People — His  Church — Visit  to  a  Young  Lady — Could  have  written 
Childe  Harold. 

'r INHERE  are  those  now  living  in  the  county  who  remem 
ber  to  have  seen,  on  one  occasion,  a  coach  and  four 
coming  dashing  into  the  village  of  Charlotte  Court 
house,  with  a  driver  on  one  of  the  wheel  horses  and  another 
upon  one  of  the  leaders.  They  came  whipping  with  might 
and  main,  and  in  the  height  of  their  rapid  career,  the  table 
of  a  poor  old  woman,  upon  which  was  displayed  her  choice 
stock  of  cakes,  was  overturned.  Thereupon  a  shrill  voice 
issued  from  the  window,  cursing  and  damning  the  driver  for 
going  at  such  a  rate. 

The  driver  responded:  "Why,  master,  you  told  us  to 
drive  fast." 

There  are  no  coaches  and  four  in  the  county  of  Charlotte 
now.  Mr.  Randolph  was  about  the  last  man  that  travelled 
in  that  style.  His  clumsy  coach  was  imported  from  Eng 
land,  as  was  almost  his  entire  stock  of  furniture  and  books. 
He  was  the  last  man  that  kept  a  park. 

There  is  a  reason  for  these  changes ;  nor  does  it  consist  in 
the  want  of  means.  There  are  men  now  residing  in  the 
county  as  able  to  keep  parks  and  drive  four  horses  as  Mr. 
Randolph  was.  The  reason  is  that  aristocratic  feelings,  such 
as  inhabited  the  breasts  of  our  forefathers  of  colonial  times, 


36  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

have  been  extinguished.  The  gentleman  who,  in  our  day,, 
should  venture  to  keep  a  park  and  drive  four  horses,  would 
be  pronounced  an  aristocrat,  and  would  hazard  his  election 
to  any  office  within  the  gift  of  the  people.  "  Aristocrat"  is 
an  awful  cry  to  be  raised  against  a  politician. 

The  revolution  which  caused  the  adoption  of  the  consti 
tution  of  Mason,  as  it  is  sfyled,  produced  a  great  change  in 
the  manners,  customs  and  sentiments  of  our  people.  And 
the  laws  so  earnestly  advocated  by  Thomas  Jefferson  pro 
duced  a  great  change  from  what  we  were  under  the  old 
constitution.  Mr.  Randolph  was  the  last  man  in  the  State,. 
of  prominent  abilities,  who  made  open  war  upon  the  pre 
vailing  opinions,  who  threw  himself  right  across  the  current 
and  attempted  to  arrest  its  progress.  He  was  unsuccessful, 
of  course.  A  single  individual  had  as  well  undertake  to 
dike  in  the  Mississippi,  as  to  check  a  great  popular  move 
ment.  By  skillful  management  he  may,  to  some  extent, 
guide  it ;  but  never  arrest  it. 

Mr.  Randolph's  prejudices  were  too  strong  to  be  moulded 
by  the  prevailing  opinions.  Indeed,  he  would  have  been  a 
much  happier  man,  in  all  probability,  if  he  had  lived  in 
England. 

The  old  habits  and  customs  had  passed  away;  the  law  of 
inheritance  and  entail  had  been  repealed ;  there  were  no  rich 
barons  living  in  splendor,  as  in  days  gone  by;  when  the  fa 
ther  died  the  inheritance  was  equally  divided  among  all  the 
children ;  the  poor  and  the  rich  intermarried  and  mingled 
freely  together;  the  religious  forms  had  undergone  an  entire 
change;  the  Church  of  England,  which  Mr.  Randolph  never 
could  renounce,  with  all  its  pomp  and  ceremony,  had  gone 
down  with  the  monarchical  form  of  government,  and  the 
mind,  taken  from  its  ancient  channel,  sought  out  divers  new 
modes  of  worship. 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  37 

All  these  changes  were  deprecated  by  Mr.  Randolph ;  nor 
•could  he  ever  tolerate  them.  His  government  did  not  suit 
him ;  his  people  did  not  suit  him ;  hence,  an  everlasting  strife 
with  the  surrounding  elements. 

We  are  reminded  just  here  of  a  little  incident  related  to 
us  by  an  old  lady  who  was  personally  acquainted  with  Mr. 
Randolph.  She  said : 

"On  one  occasion,  when  he  was  on  a  visit  to  Judge 
Thomas  T.  Bouldin,  speaking  of  his  devotion  to  old  things, 
he  remarked :  '  Now,  if  one  of  these  ladies  were  to  sing  us 
an  old  song,  and  a  young  fellow  were  to  come  along,  singing, 
as  he  came,  one  of  his  own  composition,  and  were  to  say 
it  was  better,  we  would  not  believe  him.' " 

The  old  lady  who  related  to  us  this  incident  remarked, 
that  she  could  see  in  her  mind  the  fellow  singing  along  as 
he  came,  exactly  as  he  described  him,  and  that  the  scene 
was  as  fresh  in  her  memory  as  if  it  had  occurred  yesterday. 

Other  men  might  describe  a  scene,  and  it  would  make  no 
more  impression  than  an  advertisement  in  a  newspaper;  but, 
when  Mr.  Randolph  drew  the  picture,  it  was  as  vividly  im 
pressed  upon  the  imagination  as  if  one  had  seen  it  with  his 
own  eyes. 

During  his  canvass  with  Eppes,  when  he  was  hard  pressed, 
Hon.  James  W.  Bouldin  states  that  he  courted  the  support 
of  the  Presbyterian  church.  "He  spoke  in  high  and  just 
praise  of  Dr.  Hoge,  a  Presbyterian  minister  and  president  of 
Hampden  Sidney  college ;  no  doubt  sincerely,  but  more  fre 
quently  perhaps  and  more  openly  than  he  would  have  done 
had  he  not  been  a  candidate  and  hard  pressed."  He  fre 
quently  talked  about  Dr.  Hoge  and  his  church,  we  are  in 
formed  by  another  gentleman,  in  such  a  manner  that  any 
one  who  did  not  know  him  might  think  he  had  a  notion  of 
joining  that  denomination ;  but  he  invariably  wound  up  by 


38  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

stating  emphatically,  that  "  having  been  born  in  the  Church' 
of  England,  he  did  not  mean  to  renounce  it." 

He  was  too  aristocratic  in  his  feelings  to  unite  with  the 
Presbyterians,  although  there  was  no  minister  of  his  church 
in  the  county,  and  although  he  considered  the  Presbyterians 
the  most  learned  of  any  of  the  other  religious  sects.  He 
was  attached  to  the  old  church  and  all  the  associations  which 
clustered  around  it.  He  had  no  idea  of  substituting  new 
forms  and  ceremonies,  or  rather  doing  awray  with  all  forms 
and  ceremonies.  He  could  not  tolerate  the  unrestrained 
liberty  of  the  camp  meeting. 

The  train  of  thought  which  we  have  been  following  brings 
to  mind  a  little  incident  which  happened  in  Mr.  Randolph's 
neighborhood. 

But  we  must  first  introduce  to  the  reader  an  old  citizen  of 
the  county  of  Charlotte,  upon  whom  we  have  drawn  largely 
for  opinions  and  facts  concerning  our  subject.  We  refer  to 
the  late  Miss  Mary  Bouldin,  an  old  maiden  lady,  who  lived 
to  nearly  a  hundred  years  of  age.  She  was  one  of  the  few- 
persons  we  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting,  when  we  were 
gathering  up  the  materials  for  this  volume,  who  could  take 
in  Mr.  Randolph's  whole  career.  This  sensible  old  lady,, 
whose  mind  was  stored  with  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the 
men  and  things  of  her  day,  told  us  a  great  deal  about  Mr. 
Randolph.  She  might  have  told  us  what  roused  the  gen 
erous  feelings  of  resentment  in  his  youthful  breast,  which 
first  brought  into  notice  his  high  and  manly  courage — the 
time  when  he  stood  upon  the  court  green  and  bid  defiance 
to  those  who,  he  charged,  had  cast  a  foul  aspersion  on 
the  character  of  his  brother.  And  she  could  tell  the  first 
time  his  transcendent  genius  was  waked  into  life.  She  re 
membered  some  things  that  were  said  when  Patrick  Henry 
made  his  last  speech  on  earth  at  Charlotte  Court-house,  and 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  39 

when  Mr.  Randolph,  a  mere  stripling,  had  the  boldness  to 
answer  him — the  time  when  the  crowd,  filled  with  the  elo 
quence  of  Henry,  and  indignant  that  any  one  should  attempt 
to  answer  him,  were  suddenly  arrested  and  brought  back  to 
the  stand  by  the  music  of  a  strange  voice  which  was  to  en 
chant  them  for  many  long  years  to  come. 

O!  that  was  a  glorious  scene.  And  Charlotte  Court 
house  is  classic  ground,  and  deserves  to  live  in  "songs  of 
distant  days."  It  was  there  that  one  sun  set  in  all  its  glory, 
and  another  of  equal  splendor  rose  exactly  on  the  same 
spot. 

Miss  Mary  Bouldin  watched  with  no  ordinary  curiosity 
the  long  and  brilliant  career  of  that  courageous  youth,  and 
no  one  could  be  in  her  company,  when  the  conversation  hap 
pened  to  turn  upon  him,  without  being  edified  and  highly 
entertained. 

Such  was  our  good  fortune  one  day,  when  the  spirited 
old  lady  was  reminded  by  something  that  was  said  of  a  ren 
counter  which  she  herself  once  had  with  Mr.  Randolph. 

Many  years  ago,  she  informed  us,  she  passed  through  Mr. 
Randolph's  plantation  over  into  Halifax  county  to  attend 
religious  service  at  the  Episcopal  church.  On  her  return 
she  stopped  at  Mr.  Carrington's  to  dine.  Pretty  soon  Mr. 
Randolph  came  in.  But  although,  as  we  are  informed  by 
others,  she  possessed  at  that  time  considerable  personal  at 
tractions,  his  was  not  the  pursuit  of  the  lover.  No,  "beauty 
had  no  charms  "  for  him.  But  he  had  doubtless  been  brood 
ing  over  his  troubles  in  the  solitudes  of  Roanoke  ("  quiet,  to 
quick  bosoms,  is  a  hell").  He  perhaps  was  suffering,  from 
the  want  of  mental  stimulus,  all  the  horrors  of  ennui — "  that 
dreadful  scourge  and  enemy  to  human  repose."  His  chief 
pleasure,  no  doubt,  consisted  in  the  exercise  of  his  mental 
faculties,  and  he  was  then  in  pursuit  of  talents  which  he 


40  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

knew  would  afford  him  some  sport.  He  was  aware,  more 
over,  that  the  lady  in  question  would  not  surrender  without 
a  fight. 

The  two  were  seated  in  the  parlor  alone.  She  said  she 
saw  the  moment  she  laid  her  eyes  upon  him  that  he  had 
some  mischief  in  view,  and  she  determined  at  a  glance  to 
match  him. 

The  subject  of  her  going  over  into  Halifax  to  the  Episco 
pal  church  was  introduced.  Mr.  Randolph  made  a  thousand 
insinuations,  to  the  effect  that  his  fair  companion  ought  to 
have  stayed  at  home  and  attended  the  "  Methodist  meeting 
house  "  in  her  neighborhood.  He  put  it  in  every  possible 
shape.  After  a  while  he  said  something  about  the  folly  of 
talking  about  having  an  Episcopal  church  in  this  country. 
In  England,  he  maintained,  they  could  have  such  a  church, 
but  not  here.  It  did  not  accord  with  the  spirit  of  our  insti 
tutions  ;  and  he  was  proceeding  in  that  disparaging  strain, 
when  the  tables  were  suddenly  turned  upon  him  by  his  fair 
companion. 

"I  suppose  then,  Mr.  Randolph,  you  are  a  Methodist," 
said  she,  in  her  emphatic  style. 

He  was  highly  incensed,  but  said  not  a  word  in  reply. 
Yet,  the  muscles  of  his  face  seemed  to  contract  to  the  size  of 
his  fist.  Indeed,  she  thought  his  face  at  that  time  very  much 
resembled  a  man's  fist. 

The  reader  will  better  understand  how  much  nerve  it  re 
quired  to  make  the  above  retort  upon  Mr.  Randolph  when 
he  gets  through  this  volume.  We  should  like  to  have  wit 
nessed  an  intellectual  battle  between  them ;  for,  if  he  was  of 
the  oak,  she  was  not  of  the  willow. 

Though  Mr.  Randolph  was  proud  as  Lucifer,  and  though 
the  institutions  of  his  country  were  repugnant  to  his  feelings^ 
and  though  he  was  of  all  men  the  least  disposed  to  yield  his 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  41 

prejudices ;  still,  on  some  occasions  he  let  himself  down  from 
his  lofty  state.  No  one  can  remain  in  any  country  for  any 
considerable  time,  without  having  his  habits  to  some  extent 
modified  by  public  opinion.  The  spirit  of  the  age  is  obliged 
to  have  its  effect,  not  only  in  changing  the  habits,  but 
moulding  the  minds  of  individuals. 

Mr.  Randolph  once  remarked,  that  "  if  electioneering  were 
allowed  in  heaven,  it  would  corrupt  the  angels."  If  forcing 
a  little  civility  towards  the  common  people,  for  whom  he 
really  had  scarcely  any  sympathy,  be  corruption,  why  then 
it  must  be  admitted  that  he  was  slightly  corrupted.  He  was 
never  so  civil  as  on  the  eve  of  an  election.  It  was  the  Sat 
urday  before  the  Charlotte  election,  as  we  shall  learn  from 
the  "Recollections"  of  Hon.  James  W.  Bouldin,  that  he 
conversed  freely  and  familiarly  with  the  people  on  various 
subjects,  and  evinced  a  great  desire  to  make  himself  agreea 
ble  and  acceptable. 

But,  judging  from  one  little  circumstance,  which  was  re 
lated  to  us  by  a  reverend  gentleman,  whose  mind  was  stored 
with  some  lively  recollections  of  his  peculiar  countryman, 
we  should  say  he  had  no  civility  to  waste  upon  those  who 
were  of  no  use  to  him. 

Riding  from  Prince  Edward  court  he  overtook  a  gentle 
man  on  horseback. 

"How  do  you  do,  Mr.  L.?"  said  Mr.  Randolph,  in  the  po 
litest  manner  imaginable. 

Having  exchanged  salutations,  he  informed  the  gentleman 
that  he  was  a  candidate  again  for  Congress,  and  asked  him 
outright  for  his  vote. 

Mr.  L.  regretted  that  by  the  laws  of  the  land  he  was  not 
entitled  to  vote. 

*"Good  morning,  Mr.  L.,"  replied  Mr.  Randolph  abruptly, 
and  rode  off. 


42  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

Some  men  place  themselves  in  the  middle  of  a  stream,  to- 
be  wafted  smoothly  down  by  a  popular  gale,  but  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  would  attempt  to  go  right  across,  and  the  present  end 
in  view  must  be  the  object  of  his  chief  ambition,  to  induce 
him  for  a  moment  to  humor  the  current.  To  ask  an  hum 
ble  voter  for  his  support  was  galling  to  his  nature ;  but  he 
must  do  it,  or  else  remain  in  obscurity.  And  that  he  could 
not  endure,  for  there  was  "a  fire  and  motion  of  his  soul'* 
which  would  not  suffer  him  to  dwell  in  the  solitudes  of 
Roanoke.  His  unquiet  spirit  longed  for  high  adventure. 

In  many  respects  Mr.  Randolph  was  one  of  the  most  for 
tunate  of  men.  Nature  lavished  upon  her  unhappy  child 
all  the  noblest  qualities  of  the  head.  She  seems  to  have 
thought  it  but  just,  when  she  put  into  one  side  of  the  scale 
all  that  could  depress  the  soul,  to  put  into  the  other  all  that 
elevates  the  mind.  She  made  him  miserable;  but  she  also- 
made  him  glorious.  More  fortunate  than  Byron,  who,  says 
Macaulay,  was  born  to  all  that  men  covet  and  admire,  he 
was  sprung  from  a  house  ancient  and  noble,  but  not  degra 
ded  by  crimes  and  follies.  The  parent,  to  whom  was  en 
trusted  the  office  of  moulding  his  youthful  nature,  did  not 
pass  from  paroxysms  of  rage  to  paroxysms  of  fondness,  at 
one  time  stifling  him  with  caresses,  at  another  time  in 
sulting  his  misfortunes.  But  she  was  a  kind  and  gentle 
mother,  and  one  who,  while  perhaps  a  little  too  indulgent, 
understood  thoroughly  the  nature  of  her  child. 

Mr.  Randolph  was  blessed  in  another  respect.  Often 
men  spend  years  in  employments  for  which  they  have  nei 
ther  taste  nor  talents.  The  prime  of  life  is  frequently 
wasted  before  they  are  aware  of  being  endowed  with  a  pe 
culiar  genius.  Then  perhaps  it  bursts  upon  them,  as  it 
were  by  accident,  like  a  flood  of  light,  and  a  new  world  is 
opened  before  them,  filled  with  new  life,  new  aspirations,. 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  43- 

new  hopes.  Mr.  Randolph  engaged  at  once  in  those  pur 
suits  best  suited  to  his  nature.  It  has  been  said  that  one  of 
the  causes  of  his  unhappiness  was,  that  "  he  saw  other  men 
of  less  talent  rising  far  above  him  in  place  and  position." 
We  know  not  to  what  office  he  aspired.  He  must  have  in 
deed  been  hard  to  please,  if  being  placed  in  a  position,  from 
youth  to  age,  where  he  could  attract  the  eyes  of  a  continent 
to  the  splendor  of  his  genius,  was  not  sufficient  for  him. 

We  have  a  county  pride  (the  writer  was  born  and  raised 
in  Charlotte),  a  State  pride,  and  a  national  pride  in  Mr.  Ran 
dolph,  but  we  do  not  regret  that  he  was  not  made  President 
of  the  United  States.  If,  by  nothing  else,  he  was  disquali 
fied  for  that  office  by  his  misanthropy.  Whatever  pearls 
there  may  be  in  the  head,  if  poison  be  in  the  heart,  the  man 
is  unfit.  One  of  his  biographers  might  say  he  ought  never 
to  have  occupied  the  presidential  chair,  "  because  he  wanted 
the  profound  views  of  a  great  statesman."  His  views,  we 
submit,  were  profound  upon  every  subject  he  touched. 
That  is  not  what  was  the  matter.  His  affections  were  too 
contracted.  His  views  were  indeed  profound,  but  he  wished 
to  turn  them  to  the  advantage  of  his  own  State  only.  His 
mind  was  expanded,  but  he  could  never  expand  his  soul,  so 
as  to  include  the  entire  nation.  It  is  natural  and  well  for 
one  to  desire  the  prosperity  and  glory  of  his  own  State ;  but 
if  his  feelings  be  as  intensely  Virginian,  as  Mr.  Randolph's, 
his  ambition  should  be  limited  to  the  highest  position  which 
that  State  can  confer.  And  here  we  take  occasion  to  re 
mark,  that  the  only  act  which  mars  the  beauty  of  Mr.  Ran 
dolph's  political  life  was  his  acceptance  of  a  foreign  mission. 

We  repeat  he  was  not  qualified  for  a  high  executive 
office,  nor  do  we  imagine  that  he  was  much  disappointed 
at  not  being  made  President  of  the  United  States. 

In  his  young  days  he  obtained  a  license  to  practice  law ; 


44  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

but  we  are  quite  confident  he  could  never  have  succeeded  at 
the  bar.  It  would  have  been  impossible  for  him  to  have 
endured  the  necessary  application  to  business.  The  field  of 
politics  afforded  him  the  best  opportunity  of  displaying  his 
brilliant  parts.  The  halls  of  Congress  and  the  hustings  per 
mitted  him  to  show  to  the  world  that  he  was  not  only  a 
statesman  but  an  orator  of  the  first  magnitude.  Public  life, 
moreover,  suited  his  moody  and  restless  temperament.  He 
was  not  obliged  to  speak  when  the  spirit  did  not  move,  nor 
to  exert  his  body  when  he  did  not  feel  disposed. 

In  view  of  this  state  of  things  we  cannot  blame  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  much  for  deviating  even  from  his  own  high  standard 
of  political  integrity,  and  for  doing  to  the  extent  that  he  did, 
what  he  owned  would  corrupt  the  angels  in  heaven. 

The  feeling  described  by  the  poet  in  the  following  lines 
was  never  experienced  by  John  Randolph: 

"O,  who  can  tell  how  hard  it  is  to  climb 
The  steep  where  fame's  proud  temple  shines  afar." 

He  was  doomed  to  great  mental  anguish  from  many 
causes,  and  to  much  bodily  suffering;  but  the  pangs  of  the 
want  of  appreciation  he  never  knew.  The  world  at  once 
acknowledged  his  preeminent  abilities;  and  he  looked  as  if 
he  felt  that  the  eyes  of  the  world  were  upon  him.  At  an 
age  when  most  politicians  have  scarcely  taken  the  first  step 
upon  the  ladder  he  had  ascended  the  summit.  He  was  not 
compelled  to  climb  slowly,  step  by  step,  but  by  a  single  leap 
mounted  to  the  top.  He  was  called  before  the  public  as  it 
were  by  accident,  and,  as  he  says  himself,  elected  by  "sheer 
accident."  In  this  instance  opportunity  conspired  with  his 
tastes  and  talents  to  develop  the  resources  of  his  great 
mind.  And  he  not  only  was  following  the  natural  bent  of 
his  genius,  but  his  constituents  had  taken  the  advice  of 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  45 

Patrick  Henry,  and  commenced  with  him  in  time.  And  if,, 
when  they  elected  him  to  Congress,  the  tlerk  before  admin 
istering  the  oath  of  office  inquired  what  was  his  age,  they 
were  not  the  least  chagrined,  for  they  felt  entirely  confident 
that  the  boy  in  years  was  a  man  in  mature  reflection. 

We  intimated  that  we  knew  not  in  what  other  profession 
Mr.  Randolph  could  have  distinguished  himself.  We  forgot 
that  Mr.  Baldwin  says  he  is  the  only  man  he  ever  heard  of 
who  could  have  written  Childe  Harold.  There  are  indeed 
passages  in  that  poem  which  breathe  the  same  spirit  of  mis 
anthropy  and  despair  which  pervade  all  the  private  letters  of 
Mr.  Randolph.  Such  as  the  following : 

"  I  can  no  longer  imagine  any  state  of  things  under  which 
I  should  not  be  wretched."  "  I  am  sick  of  both  (men  and 
measures)  and  only  wish  to  find  some  resting  place  where  I 
may  die  in  peace."  "What  a  fate  ours  would  have  been,  if 
we  had  been  condemned  to  immortality  here."  "Whichever 
way  I  look  around  me  I  see  no  cheering  object.  All  is  dark 
and  comfortless  and  hopeless."  "  Language  cannot  express 
the  thousandth  part  of  the  misery  I  feel."  "They  have 
dried  up  (his  resources)  one  by  one,  and  I  am  left  in  the 
desert  alone." 

Such  are  a  few  extracts  from  the  voluminous  correspond 
ence  of  Mr.  Randolph  with  his  most  intimate  friends.  They 
are  filled  with  gloomy  sentiments  like  those  we  have  quoted. 
But  we  cannot  impose  any  more  upon  the  reader;  the  heart 
sickens  at  the  repetition  of  such  unmitigated  woe. 

How  much  these  expressions  of  Mr.  Randolph  remind  us. 
of  Lord  Byron,  when  he  sings  of — 


"  The  dull  satiety  which  all  destroys — 
And  root  from  out  the  soul  the  deadly  weed  which  cloys." 


Again : 


46  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

"  We  wither  from  our  youth,  we  gasp  away — 
Sick — sick;  ujifound  the  boon,  unslaked  the  thirst." 

And  again : 

"I  have  not  loved  the  world,  nor  the  world  loved  me; 
I  have  not  flattered  its  rank  breath,  nor  bowed 
To  its  idolatries  a  patient  knee, — 
Nor  coin'd  my  cheeks  to  smiles, — nor  cried  aloud 
In  worship  of  an  echo;  in  the  crowd 
They  could  not  deem  me  one  of  such ;  I  stood 
Among  them,  but  not  of  them." 

We  agree  with  Mr.  Baldwin  that  Mr.  Randolph  could 
have  written  Childe  Harold;  but  we  are  glad  he  did  not 
turn  his  attention  to  poetry.  If  the  muses  had  taken  up 
their  abode  at  Roanoke,  a  strain  of  bitterness  and  despair 
would  have  issued  from  its  native  wilds  compared  with  which 
the  song  "To  Inez"  would  be  gay  and  happy. 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  47 


CHAPTER  V. 


Speeches  on  the  Hustings — His  Style  of  Speaking — Sketches  by  Hon. 
James  W.  Bouldin — Extract  from  "  Schoolboy  Reminiscences,"  by 
W.  H.  Elliott — Sketch  by  James  M.  Whittle — Recollections  by  Dr. 
C.  H.  Jordan  and  Hon.  Thomas  S.  Flournoy — His  Great  Speech  at 
Halifax  Court-house  against  calling  a  State  Convention. 

OINCE  our  plan  is  to  entertain  the  reader  with  home  remi- 
^J  niscences,  we  shall  not  dwell  upon  the  great  speeches 
made  by  Mr.  Randolph  in  Congress.  The  world  has 
been  made  acquainted  with  them  by  such  authors  as  Thomas 
H.  Benton  and  Hugh  A.  Garland.  We  shall  devote  our 
space  mainly  to  the  speeches  he  made  to  his  constituents,  of 
which  very  little  has  been  said  by  those  who  have  under 
taken  to  describe  his  wonderful  powers  of  elocution. 

The  Hon.  James  W.  Bouldin  was  a  close  observer,  had  a 
very  accurate  memory,  and  heard  many  of  Mr.  Randolph's 
speeches  on  the  hustings. 

The  first  time  I  saw  Mr.  Randolph  (says  Mr.  Bouldin)  was  at  Prince 
Edward  court,  in  October  1808  or  '9.  He  was  then  at  his  zenith.  For  the 
first  time  since  his  first  election,  which  was  closely  contested  with  Powha- 
tan  Boiling,  some  opposition  began  to  discover  itself  to  him  in  the  district. 
It  was  said  he  was  to  speak,  and  I  rode  twenty  miles  to  hear  him.  I  re 
member  well  his  appearance.  When  I  saw  him  he  was  approaching  the 
court-house,  walking  very  slowly,  and  alone — a  tall,  spare,  straight  man, 
very  neatly  dressed  in  summer  apparel — shoes,  nankeen  gaiters  and  pan 
taloons,  white  vest,  drab  cloth  coat  of  very  fine  quality,  and  white  beaver 


48  HOME     REMINISCENCES 

hat.  Though  he  had  no  shape,  but  that  he  was  forked,  and  had  very  long 
arms,  all  the  way  of  the  same  size,  with  long  bony  fingers,  with  gloves  on,, 
still  he  had  a  most  graceful  appearance.  His  bow,  notwithstanding  it  was 
slight,  bending  his  body  very  little,  and  rather  leaning  his  head  back  than 
forward,  was  winning  to  those  to  whom  it  was  addressed,  and  seemed  to 
carry  with  it  marked  attention  and  respect.  His  eyes  were  hazel,  of  the 
darkest  hue,  and  had  the  appearance  of  being  entirely  black,  unless  you 
were  very  near  him.  They  opened  round,  and  when  open  nearly  hid  the 
lids,  the  dark  long  lashes  only  showing.  Their  brilliancy  surpassed  any 
I  have  ever  seen.  His  appearance  was  remarkable  and  commanding,  and 
would  attract  the  attention  of  any  orfe.  His  manner,  though  stately,  pos 
sessed  a  charm  to  those  to  whom  he  wished  to  make  himself  agreeable, 
but  had  something  terrible  in  it  to  those  to  whom  he  felt  a  dislike.  To 
mere  strangers  it  was  simply  lofty  and  graceful. 

I  said  the  first  time  I  saw  Mr.  Randolph  was  at  Prince  Edward  court,, 
in  October  1808  or  1809.  I  saw  him  once  before  when  I  was  at  school. 
He  was  riding  by  on  horseback.  I  had  the  paddle  raised  to  strike  a  ball 
while  playing  a  game  of  cat.  So  remarkable  was  his  appearance  that  I 
failed  to  strike  while  gazing  at  him.  I  had  no  idea  who  he  was,  or  that 
he  was  a  distinguished  man. 

Very  soon  after  Mr.  Randolph  made  his  appearance,  the  people  began 
to  gather  around  the  steps  of  the  railing,  where  those  who  addressed  them 
gene/ally  stood.  Much  curiosity  was  discovered  to  hear  him,  and  I  sup 
pose  of  various  kinds.  Politicians,  I  imagine,  wished  to  hear  what  he 
had  to  say  on  public  affairs,  and  others  for  other  reasons.  My  anxiety  was 
to  hear  a  great  orator  speak.  He  made  but  a  short  address;  but  I  was 
much  gratified.  He  was  the  first  very  great  man  I  had  ever  heard  deliver 
a  public  speech. 

I  remember  his  commencement.  It  was  thus :  "  After,  an  absence,  fel 
low-citizens,  of  nearly  six  months,  I  have  returned  to  the  bosom  of  my 
constituents  to  be — chastised." 

We  have  printed  this  sentence  exactly  as  it  was  delivered. 
Mr.  Randolph  made  a  pause  wherever  wre  have  placed  the 
comma  or  the  dash.  The  writer  has  heard  Mr.  Bouldin  re 
peat  this  little  sentence  a  hundred  times,  as  nearly  as  possi 
ble  after  the  manner  of  Mr.  Randolph.  The  reader  will  ask, 


OF  JOHN   RANDOLPH.  49 

why  so  much  importance  is  attached  to  this  apparently  tri 
fling  matter?  We  answer:  It  was  not  the  idea,  but  the 
manner,  which  impressed  these  words  upon  the  mind. 
Strange,  that  thousands  of  expressions  of  other  men,  and 
events  of  momentous  consequences,  had  been  forgotten, 
while  this  sentence  was  as  fresh  in  the  old  man's  memory  as 
if  it  had  just  fallen  from  the  lips  of  the  eloquent  speaker. 

I  remember  little  else  now  of  what  he  said  literally.  He  was  defend 
ing  himself  again%t  charges  made  of  his  having  deserted  the  Republican 
party. 

As  to  his  manner,  its  fascination  was  felt  by  all  who  ever  heard  him,  and 
those  who  have  not,  can  be  little  edified  by  any  attempt  to  describe  it. 

During  his  canvass  with  Mr.  Eppes,  a  Mr.  Dabbs,  a  minister  of  the 
Baptist  Association,  took  a  very  active  part  in  the  canvass  in  favor  of 
Eppes,  and  introduced  him  to  many  of  his  brethren  and  others,  he  being 
personally  an  entire  stranger  in  the  district.  Eppes  went  with  him  to 
many  places  where  Dabbs  had  appointments  to  preach.  Randolph  went 
to  very  few  places  of  worship  during  the  canvass.  He  sometimes  went  to 
hear  Mr.  Hoge,  a  Presbyterian  minister,  and  president  of  Hampden  Sid 
ney  College — a  man  of  great  talents  and  piety,  and  though  he  had  an 
impediment  in  his  speech,  was  decidedly  the  most  eloquent  man  I  ever 
knew,  except  Mr.  Randolph  himself. 

Mr.  Randolph  evidently  courted  the  support  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
He  spoke  in  high  and  just  praise  of  Mr.  Hoge,  and  I  have  no  doubt  sin 
cerely,  but  doubtless  more  frequently  and  openly  than  he  wQuld  have  done 
had  he  not  been  a  candidate,  and  hard  pressed. 

On  one  occasion,  at  Sandy  Creek,  when  it  was  rumored  that  Mr.  Eppes 
and  Mr.  Dabbs  would  be  there,  Mr.  Hugh  Wyllie,  a  Scotchman,  and  a 
great  friend  of  Mr.  Randolph,  wrote  him  a  note,  informing  him  that  such 
was  the  expectation,  and  inviting  him  down.  Mr.  Randolph  replied,  in  a 
very  courteous  note  in  pencil,  that  he  should  be  glad  to  attend  worship, 
but  he  could  not  violate  the  Sabbath  by  profanely  attending  the  house  of 
God  for  electioneering  purposes. 

This  note  was  circulated  through  the  congregation,  and  read  with  ap 
probation  by  most  of  them. 

He  attended  many  musters  and  public  gatherings  during  his  two  can- 


50  HOME     REMINISCENCES 

vasses  with  Eppes,  in  the  first  of  which  he  was  beaten,  and  in  the  second 
successful. 

I  went  with  him  on  one  occasion  to  a  muster  near  where  I  was  born.  He 
did  not  address  the  people;  nearly  all  at  that  place  were  opposed  to  him. 
He  took  me  aside,  and  asked  me  whether  he  had  best  address  them.  I 
told  him  I  thought  not.  He  talked  however  freely  and  familiarly  with 
the  people  on  various  subjects.  He  had  much  to  say  to  a  certain  lady  who 
was  present — very  intelligent,  but  I  thought  a  little  hysterical.  He  was- 
polite  and  respectful  to  her,  as  he  was  always  to  ladies,  while  in  their  pres 
ence.  I  never  saw  him  show  so  plainly  his  desire  to  make  himself  agree 
able  and  acceptable  as  on  this  occasion. 

It  was  Saturday  night  before  the  Charlotte  election,  which  was  the  first 
in  the  district,  the  elections  being  then  held  on  the  different  court  days 
through  the  district. 

He  went  with  me  to  Charlotte  court,  where  I  lived,  and  stayed  in  the 
room  with  me  until  Monday.  He  kept  in  his  room  on  Sunday,  except 
going  to  the  tavern  to  dinner.  Sunday  night  he  slept  very  little,  and 
looked  badly  in  the  morning — drank  very  little  then,  but  freely  at  the  mus 
ter.  In  the  morning  when  I  went  to  breakfast  he  did  not  go,  but  asked 
me  to  send  him  a  bottle  of  wine  with  his  breakfast: 

He  was  very  fond  of  good  coffee,  and  had  it  strong  and  excellent  at 
home,  but  he  would  hardly  drink  it  bad.*  He  preferred  bad  wine,  if  he 
could  get  neither  good.  He  made  his  breakfast  principally  on  wine-,  and 
drank  the  most  of  the  bottle,  yet  it  did  not  intoxicate  him. 

Shortly  after  breakfast  he  dressed  himself  with  great  neatness  and  care. 
He  looked  very  languid  and  pale,  as  he  always  did,  when  he  was  quite 
sober  and  not  excited. 

There  was  great  expectation  from  the  orators,  especially  from  Mr.  Ran 
dolph.  My  door  was  immediately  in  view  of  the  rostrum,  where  he 
always  stood  to  speak.  The  people  began  to  draw  around  this  place,  to 
be  sure  of  a  stand  near  it,  very  early  in  the  morning. 

While  he  was  walking  backward  and  forward,  his  eyes  flashing  with 
more  and  more  brilliancy,  as  the  crowd  became  larger  and  larger,  he  ex 
claimed  :  "The  subject  is  so  large  I  do  not  know  where  to  lay  hold  on  it 
first." 

*  On  one  occasion  he  was  at  breakfast,  when  a  cup  was  set  at  his  plate. 
"  Servant,"  said  he,  "  If  this  be  coffee,  give  me  tea,  and  if  it  be  tea,  give 
me  coffee." 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  51 

It  was  still  early ;  but  said  I,  "  Sir,  you  see  the  crowd  is  gathered 
around  the  stand,  and  if  you  do  not  begin,  Eppes  will  begin  first,  and  read 
until  sunset,  and  you  will  be  wearied  to  death  before  you  get  a  chance  to 
say  a  word."  He  immediately  made  his  way  through  the  crowd,  which 
was  at  this  time  large  and  dense,  and  commenced  his  address.  I  was 
much  engaged  at  the  time,  and  did  not  .go  out  until  he  had  nearly  gotten 
through. 

I  do  not  know  how  Mr.  Eppes  appeared  elsewhere,  and  in  comparison 
with  others;  but  compared  with  Mr.  Randoph  and  on  the  hustings  I 
thought  him  dull  and  heavy.  He  was  self-possessed,  and  much  of  a  gen 
tleman,  but  I  thought  greatly  inferior  to  Randolph  in  eloquence  and 
ability. 

Probably  Mr.  Randolph's  greatest  efforts  at  speaking  were  made  during 
the  canvass  with  Mr.  Eppes,  in  which  he  was  beaten.  I  heard  many  of 
them,  including  the  one  at  Prince  Edward  court,  in  the  Fall  preceding 
the  election.  He  was  told  by  a  friend  that  this  was  considered  to  be  the 
best  speech  he  ever  made.  He  replied,  that  it  was  the  only  time  he  ever 
felt  conscious  of  being  eloquent  while  speaking.  He  remarked  that  he 
felt  the  truth  of  what  Mark  Anthony  said — "  Passion,  thou  art  catching" — : 
that  he  felt  the  electricity  passing  from  him  to  the  crowd,  and  from  the 
crowd  back  to  him. 

I  remember  but  one  expression,  literally,  during  that  speech.  Speak 
ing  of  Bonaparte's  strides  to  universal  dominion,  he  said :  "  He  stood 
with  one  foot  upon  European  and  the  other  upon  American  shores.  It  is 
said  that  Moloch  smiled  at  the  blood  of  human  sacrifice  running  at  the 
foot  of  the  altar;  this  great  arch  enemy  of  mankind  is  now  grinning  and 
smiling  at  American  blood,  flowing  in  support  of  his  inordinate  ambi 
tion." 

He  spoke  for  an  hour,  perhaps,  and  when  he  concluded,  I  found  my 
self  musing  and  walking  without  any  aim  or  object;  and  looking  around, 
found  the  crowd  gradually  dispersing  in  the  same  mood.  The  Rev.  Mo 
ses  Hoge  was  sitting  in  a  chair  opposite  the  speaker,  and  remained  till  I 
observed  him,  still  with  his  mouth  open,  and  looking  steadfastly  in  the 
same  direction.  Parson  Lyle  was  standing  by  him.  Said  Mr.  Hoge  to 
Lyle,  "  I  never  heard  the  like  before,  and  I  never  expect  to  hear  the  like 
again." 

It  was  at  the  next  succeeding  Charlotte  court  that  he  made  the  reply  to 
Colonel  S.  that  has  sometimes  been  alluded  to  in  print. 


52  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

Mr.  Eppes  had  lately  moved  into  the  district,  and  Mr.  Randolph 
charged  him  with  having  been  imported,  like  a  stallion,  for  the  purpose 
of  being  run  against  him.  He  said  the  district  had  no  necessity  to  import 
one;  they  had  good  stock  of  their  own.  If  the  people  did  not  like  his 
services,  they  could  elect  one  from  their  own  stock.  "  Where  are  your 
Daniels,  your  Bouldins,  your  Carringtons," — and  was  proceeding  with  the 
enumeration,  but  made  a  pause  as  was  much  his  custom  (he  spoke  very 
slowly  and  distinctly).  Said  Colonel  S.,  "  There  are  other  families  in  the 
district  as  respectable  as  those  you  have  mentioned."  "Certainly,"  re 
plied  Mr.  Randolph,  "  None  more  so  than  the  S.'s,  but  you  are  an  excep 
tion." 

Mr.  Eppes  read  many  documents  at  Prince  Edward  and  more  at  Char 
lotte  court.  When  Mr.  Randolph  rose  to  reply,  he  said :  "  It  is  true  I  am 
not  asleep,  but  I  must  confess  I  am  somewhat  drowsy.  The  gentleman 
may  not  have  improved  in  his  speaking,  but  he  certainly  gets  along  in  his 
reading." 

The  collision  with  Colonel  S.,  and  other  circumstances,  made  this  ad 
dress  rather  of  the  satirical  order,  than  of  the  grave  and  sublime  character 
.of  that  at  Prince  Edward  court.  Severe  repartees  and  remarks  creating 
great  mirth  at  the  expense  of  others,  overshadowed  in  a  measure  the  able 
and  eloquent  view  he  took  of  the  politics  of  that  day. 

On  this,  or  on  some  other  occasion  about  that  time,  having  been  often 
interrupted  with  much  heat  by  the  same  Colonel  S.,  who  was  not  only  of 
a  highly  respectable  family,  but  was  highly  respectable  himself,  yet  a  little 
too  warm  in  party  politics,  Mr.  Randolph  was  admonished  to  keep  cool 
and  not  to  be  provoked  to  rashness.  "I  am  as  cool,"  said  he,  "as  the 
centre  seed  of  a  cucumber." 

He  had  all  the  deliberation,  self-possession  and  outward  calmness  that 
would  belong  to  a  man  who  was  cool,  and  he  was  guarded;  still  I  thought 
his  mind  and  passions  were  roused  to  the  highest  pitch  of  excitement. 
The  fiery  vengeance  that  burns  and  flashes  in  the  eyes  of  an  enraged  tiger 
cannot  be  mistaken  for  coolness,  however  deliberate  he  may  be  in  pre 
paring  to  make  his  spring. 

When  Jerman  Baker  was  a  rival  candidate  for  Congress,  Mr.  Randolph 
treated  him  with  great  kindness  and  forbearance,  considering  his  usual 
treatment  towards  his  opponents. 

On  one  occasion,  when  Mr.  Baker  was  promising  what  he  would  do,  if 
elected,  Mr.  Randolph,  in  reply,  said :  "  The  gentleman  and  I  stand  on 


OF   JOHN   RANDOLPH.  53 

very  different  ground.  I  stand  on  fourteen  years'  hard  bought  experi 
ence.  He  is  in  the  land  of  promise  which  always  flows  with  milk  and 
honey;"  and  presently  afterwards  he  said,  "A  new  broom  sweeps  clean, 
but  an  old  one  knows  where  the  dirt  lies." 

As  Mr.  Baker  stood  no  chance  of  election,  and  was  moderate  in  his 
abilities,  there  was  no  great  interest  in  that  canvass. 

When  Mr.  Austin  was  a  candidate,  and  Mr.  Randolph  declined  a  reelec 
tion  to  Congress,  expecting  to  go  to  Europe  for  his  health,  he  took  leave  of 
his  constituents  by  riding  around  to  the  elections,  and  addressing  the  peo 
ple  in  the  morning,  before  Mr.  Austin  began.  These  addresses  were  of 
a  character  wholly  different  from  any  made  by  him  on  any  other  occa 
sion,  that  I  ever  knew  of.  They  were  filled  with  grave  and  solemn 
advices,  and  the  most  pathetic  appeals  to  the  sympathies  of  the  district, 
without  the  least  allusion  to  party  or  feud. 

I  remember  verbatim  a  portion  of  the  commencement  of  a  speech  he 
made  at  Charlotte  court,  which,  from  its  peculiar  style  of  parenthesis,  will 
be  recognized  by  all  who  were  acquainted  with  his  manner  of  expression. 
He  was  excusing  himself,  on  the  ground  of  ill  health,  for  declining  the 
service  of  the  people,  after  their  long  continued  'confidence  in  him.  He 
said: 

"I  am  going  across  the  sea  to  patch  up  and  preserve  a  shattered  frame 
— a  frame  worn  out  in  your  service,  and  to  lengthen  out,  yet  a  little 
longer,  (hitherto  certainly,)  not  a  very  happy  existence;  for,  excepting  the 
one  upbraided  by  a  guilty  conscience,  no  life  can  be  more  unhappy,  than 
that,  the  days  of  which  are  spent  in  pain  and  sickness,  and  the  nights  in 
travail  and  sorrow." 

During  this  address  he  remarked :  "  I  was  going  to  say  in  the  sincerity 
of  the  poet,  but  the  sincerity  of  the  poet  is  somewhat  doubted; — I  can 
say  with  a  truth,  in  the  language  of  the  poet, — 

*  Fare  ye  well ;  and  if  forever, 
Still  forever,  fare  ye  well.'  " 

Just  as  he  had  concluded,  and  was  putting  on  his  hat  (he  always  spoke 
with  it  off),  as  he  was  stepping  down  to  the  next  step,  weak  and  somewhat 
tottering,  he  said:  "The  flesh  is  indeed  weak, 'though  the  spirit  is  strong." 

Mr.  J.  Robinson,  a  clergyman  of  distinguished  ability,  dined  with  me 
the  day  on  which  he  made  this  speech.  He  was  opposed  to  Mr.  Ran- 


54  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

dolph  in  politics,  but  was  a  great  admirer  of  his  genius.  He  remarked : 
"  He  had  not  supposed  that  Mr.  Randolph  had  any  pathos,  as  he  had  never 
before  heard  him  in  that  strain,  but  that  now  he  was  forced  to  confess, 
after  having  heard  all  the  distinguished  orators  of  the  then  just  past  age, 
from  Patrick  Henry  down,  that  Mr.  Randolph  was  the  most  pathetic  man 
he  ever  heard  open  his  lips." 

I  certainly  saw  tears  roll  down  the  cheeks  of  men  who  hated  him  then, 
and  would  curse  his  memory  now  if  he  were  named  in  their  presence. 

I  think  these  addresses  did  more  to  make  firm  his  popularity,  which, 
during  the  war,  had  been  a  little  shaken,  than  anything  he  ever  did.  They 
soothed,  softened,  and  set  aside  much  of  the  bitterness  which  had  been 
engendered  during  those  bitter  party  conflicts. 

Though  this  was  the  first  and  only  time  I  ever  heard  Mr.  Randolph 
deliver  a  speech  wholly  in  this  strain  of  pathos,  and  sober  wisdom  and 
counsel,  I  had  often  witnessed  touches  of  the  same  in  other  speeches,  and 
his  power  of  fascination  in  private,  when  he  chose  to  exert  it,  with  won 
der  and  amazement." 

We  once  asked  one  of  Mr.  Randolph's  old  constituents  to 
tell  us  which  of  all  his  speeches  he  considered  the  best.  H-e 
replied,  the  one  he  made  at  Charlotte  Court-house,  soon 
after  the  adjournment  of  the  Virginia  Convention  of  1829. 
In  this  address  he  gave  an  account  of  his  stewardship 
and  the  proceedings  of  said  convention.  On  this  occasion 
he  is  reported  to  have  used  the  following  language :  "  I 
appear  here  to  take  my  leave  of  you  for  the  last  time. 
Now  what  shall  I  say?  Twenty-eight  years  ago  you  took 
me  by  the  hand,  when  a  beardless  boy,  and  handed  me  to 
Congress.  I  have  served  you  in  a  public  capacity  ever  since. 
That  I  have  committed  errors  I  readily  believe,  being  a  de 
scendant  of  Adam,  and  full  of  bruises  and  putrifying  sores, 
from  the  crown  of  my  head  to  the  sole  of  my  feet.  People 
of  Charlotte!  which  of  you  is  without  sin?"  (A  voice  in 
the  crowd  exclaimed,  'Gracious  God!  what  preaching.')" 

Speaking  of  the  trust  committed  to  him  by  his  confiding 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  55 

•constituents,  the  duties  of  which  he  had  so  long  discharged, 
he  made  use  of  the  following  expression :  "  Take  it  back, 
take  it  back,"  at  the  same  time  moving  his  hand  forward 
towards  the  multitude.  Mr  John  Henry,  son  of  the  immor 
tal  Patrick  Henry,  who  was  present,  says  he  instinctively 
shrank  back,  feeling  as  if  the  speaker  was  about  to  roll  a  tre 
mendous  stone  upon  him.  Just  as  the  orator  concluded,  and 
while  still  under  the  intoxicating  effects  of  his  eloquence, 
Mr.  Henry's  brother  turned  to  him,  and  exclaimed,  "  He  is 
almost  a  God !" 

For  the  following  description  of  Mr.  Randolph's  style  of 
speaking,  we  are  indebted  to  Mr.  William  H.  Elliott: 

"  It  has  been  said  by  some,  who  have  heard  Mr.  Randolph  both  in 
Congress  and  on  the  hustings,  that  on  the  latter  theatre  he  made  his  most 
fascinating  and  brilliant  displays.  I  never  heard  him  in  Congress,  but  I 
cannot  conceive  that  anything  he  uttered  there  could  possibly  surpass  what 
I  have  heard  on  the  hustings. 

Most  generally,  whenever  it  was  expected  he  would  speak,  a  large  pro 
portion  of  the  crowd  would  anticipate  his  arrival  by  some  hour  or  two, 
and  gather  around  the  stand  to  secure  a  close  proximity  to  the  speaker. 
But  when  he  was  seen  to  move  forward  to  the  rostrum,  then  the  court 
house,  every  store,  and  tavern,  and  peddlar's  stall,  and  auctioneer's  stand, 
and  private  residence,  was  deserted,  and  the  speaker  saw  beneath  him  a 
motionless  mass  of  humanity,  and  a  sea  of  upturned  faces.  When  he 
rose,  with  a  deliberate  motion  he  took  off  his  hat,  and  made  a  slight  in 
clination  of  the  body,  a  motion  in  which  grace  and  humility  seemed  inex 
plicably  blended.  Now  the  grace  was  natural,  but  the  humility  was  af 
fected,  but  with  such  consummate  address  as  to  pass  for  genuine,  except 
among  those  who  know  that  artis  est  celare  artem.  His  exordium  was 
brief,  but  always  peculiarly  appropriate.  His  gestures  were  few  and 
simple,  yet  exactly  no  more  or  fewer  than  what  the  occasion  called  for. 
With  many  public  speakers  there  seems  to  be  an  unpruned  luxuriance  of 
gesticulation,  laboring  most  painfully  to  bring  forth  a  mouse  of  an  idea. 
But,  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Randolph,  the  idea  was  sure  to  be  bigger  than  the 
gesture  that  accompanied  it.  His  voice  was  unique,  but  yet  so  perfect  was 


56  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

his  pronunciation,  and  so  sharp  the  outlines  of  every  sound,  that,  as  far  as 
his  voice  could  be  heard,  his  words  could  be  distinguished.  In  short,  his- 
speaking  was  exquisite  vocal  music.  An  accurate  ear  could  distinguish,  as 
he  went  along,  commas,  semi -colons,  colons,  full  stops,  exclamation  and 
interrogation  points,  all  in  their  proper  places.  In  adverting  to  what  he 
conceived  to  be  the  overruling  agency  of  Providence  in  the  affairs  of  man, 
no  minister  of  the  gospel  could  raise  his  eyes  to  heaven  with  a  look  more 
impressively  reverential.  If  the  reader  will  look  at  Hamlet's  advice  to 
the  players,  and  conceive  it  to  be  punctually  followed  to  the  letter,  Shaks- 
peare  will  give  him  a  better  idea  of  Randolph's  oratory  than  he  can  de 
rive  from  any  other  source.*  He  seemed  to  have  discarded  from  his  vo 
cabulary  most  of  those  sonorous  sesquipedalia  verba,  which  enter  so 
largely  into  the  staple  of  modern  oratory,  and  to  have  trimmed  down  his 
language  to  the  nudest  possible  simplicity  consistent  with  strength.  When 
he  had  gotten  fully  warmed  with  the  subject,  all  idea  of  anything  nearer 
to  perfection  in  eloquence  was  held  in  utter  abeyance,  and  when  he  con 
cluded  all  felt  that  they  had  never  heard  the  like  before,  for  the  speeches 
of  this  remarkable  man  were  characterized  by  all  that  is  conclusive  in 
argument,  original  in  conception,  felicitous  in  illustration,  forcible  in  lan 
guage,  and  faultless  in  delivery." 

We  purpose  now  to  lay  before  the  reader  a  highly  inter 
esting  sketch  of  a  speech  made  by  Mr.  Randolph  at  Halifax 
Court-house,  in  the  year  1827.  It  is  from  the  pen  of  the 
late  Dr.  C.  H.  Jordan,  formerly  a  citizen  of  Halifax  county, 
Virginia,  but  a  resident  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina  at 
the  time  of  his  death.  Dr.  Jordan  w.as  a  gentleman  of  the 
purest  type,  and,  as  the  reader  will  discover,  a  most  forcible 
writer. 

Accompanying  his  Randolphiana,  he  addressed  to  us  a 
letter  in  which  he  says:  "The  lapse  of  time  has  greatly  in 
creased  the  difficulties  of  doing  him  and  his  subject  the  jus 
tice  which  I  so  much  desire.  Forty  years  ago,  I  could  have 
repeated  whole  paragraphs  from  his  various  arguments ;  but 
now  I  cannot  do  it. 

*  Hamlet,  act  III,  scene  II. 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  57 

In  many  instances,  when  I  put  his  words  in  quotation 
marks,  the  language  is  precisely  his.  In  others,  I  have  used 
the  quotations  with  a  less  vivid  recollection  of  his  precise 
words.  But  for  fear  some  one  might  think  that  I  was  dis 
posed  to  appropriate  to  myself  what  rightfully  belonged 
to  Mr.  Randolph,  I  have  also  used  them,  especially  where 
my  recollection  of  the  sentiment  is  distinct." 

The  article  referred  to  is  headed :  "  Mr.  Randolph's  Great 
Speech  at  Halifax  Courthouse  in  the  Spring  of  1827." 

Dr.  Jordan  says : 

Mr.  Randolph's  was  a  peculiar  physical  organization,  encasing  one  of 
the  most  astute,  philosophic  minds  of  his  or  any  other  day.  No  states 
man  ever  looked  into  or  predicted  the  future  of  any  governmental  policy 
with  more  accuracy  than  did  Mr.  Randolph. 

But  to  give  those  who  never  saw  him  some  idea  of  his  personal  ap 
pearance  and  presence,  I  may  say  that  he  was  tall,  slender,  delicate  and 
feeble,  with  a  short  body,  long  legs  and  arms,  and  the  longest  fingers  I 
ever  saw.  His  head  was  not  very  large,  but  was  symmetrical  in  the 
highest  degree.  His  eyes  were  brilliant  beyond  description,  indicating  to 
a  thoughtful  observer  a  brain  of  the  highest  order.  No  one  could  look 
into  them  without  having  this  truth  so  indelibly  impressed  upon  his  own 
mind  that  time's  busy  fingers  may  strive  in  vain  to  efface  the  impression. 
His  eye,  his  forefinger  and  his  foot  were  the  members  used  in  gesticula 
tion;  and,  in  impressing  a  solemn  truth,  a  warning,  or  a  proposition  to 
which  he  wished  to  call  the  attention  of  his  audience  particularly,  he 
could  use  his  foot  with  singular  and  thrilling  effect.  The  ring  of  the 
slight  patting  of  his  foot  was  in  perfect  accord  with  the  clear  musical  in 
tonations  of  that  voice  which  belonged  only  to  Mr.  Randolph.  In  his 
appeals  to  High  Heaven,  the  God  of  the  Universe,  the  Final  Judge  of  all 
the  Earth,  with  his  eyes  turne,d  heavenward,  and  that  "long  bony  finger" 
pointing  to  the  skies,  both  gradually  lowering  as  the  appeal  or  invocation 
closed,  the  moral  effect  was  so  thrilling  that  every  man  left  the  scene  with 
(for  the  time  at  least)  a  better  heart  than  he  carried  there. 

The  "long  bony  finger"  really  appeared, when  used  in  gesticulation,  to 
have  no  bone  in  it ;  for  when  it  had  accomplished  what  it  had  been  called 


•58  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

into  action  for,  it  would  fall  over  on  the  back  of  his  hand,  almost  as  limp 
•as  a  string,  as  if,  having  done  its  work,  it  sought  repose. 

But  I  have  digressed  from  what  I  set  out  to  write,  viz  :  Mr.  Randolph's 
great  speech  at  Halifax  Court-house  in  the  Spring  of  1827.  I  would  that 
the  task  had  fallen  to  hands  more  skillful  than  mine;  that  the  power  of 
that  mighty  effort  had  been  portrayed  by  an  abler  pen,  before  force  of 
•circumstances  devolved  the  duty  upon  me.  Of  the  vast  multitude  there 
assembled,  only  a  few  remained  to  witness  the  fulfillment  of  the  ominous 
predictions  of  the  illustrious  speaker.  These  should  aid  in  preserving 
from  oblivion  the  almost  prophetic  warnings  they  then  received. 

He  came  to  breast  the  flood  then  rolling  on  from  the  western  portion  of 
the  State  for  a  convention.  In  spite  of  all  his  efforts,  however,  the  stream 
•increased,  until  it  found  temporary  rest  in  the  convention  of  1829.  It 
had  been  known,  for  a  long  time,  and  for  many  miles  around,  that  he 
would  be  there  upon  that  occasion,  and  would  address  the  people  on  that 
question.  The  time  drew  nigh  ;  the  people  everywhere  were  talking 
about  it;  expectation  ran  high.  The  day  arrived  and  the  crowd  was  im 
mense,  the  largest  I  ever  saw  at  a  country  gathering,  variously  estimated 
at  from  six  to  ten  thousand,  representing  all  the  bordering  counties  in  Vir 
ginia  and  NcaJi  Carolina. 


As  the  hour  approached  every  countenance  beamed  with  anticipation, 
or  was  grave  with  anxiety,  for  the  weather  was  a  little  inauspicious,  and 
Mr.  Randolph's  health  was  bad.  It  was  known  that  he  had  reached 
Judge  Leigh's,  but  fears  were  entertained  that  he  might  be  deterred  by 
the  weather.  About  10  o'clock,  however,  the  thin  clouds  vanished,  and 
about  1  1  ne\\«s  passed  like  an  electric  current  through  the  vast  multitude 
that  he  was  coming.  In  an  instant  the  crowd  began  moving  slowly  and 
noiselessly  towards  the  upper  tavern.  Scarcely  had  they  reached  the  sum 
mit  of  the  slope  between  the  court-house  and  the  tavern  when  they  saw 
him  coming  on  horseback,  his  carriage  in  the  rear,  driven  by  one  of  his 
servants.  As  he  drew  near,  the  crowd  simultaneously  divided  to  each  side 
of  the  street,  making  a  broad  avenue  along  which  he  passed,  hat  in  hand, 
bowing  gracefully  to  the  right  and  to  the  left,  until  he  reached  the  lower 
tavern.  The  people,  with  uncovered  heads,  silently  returned  the  graceful 
salutation.  As  he  passed  on  to  the  lower  tavern,  the  multitude  followed 
in  profound  silence,  not  a  shout  nor  a  word  being  heard.  Alighting  and 
going  in  for  a  few  moments  he  soon  reappeared,  crossed  the  street,  as 
cended  the  steps  leading  over  to  the  court-house,  and  began  by  asking  : 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  59 

"Fellow-citizens: — Why  in  my  feeble  condition  am  I  here?  Love  of 
your  liberty,  as  well  as  my  own,  compelled  me  to  come!"  A  mighty 
-effort  he  said  was  being  made  by  politicians  to  call  a  convention  to  alter 
the  constitution  of  the  State.  He  warned  them  against  the  danger  of 
tinkering  with  the  constitution ;  said  that  few  if  any  had  ever  been  bet 
tered  by  so  doing ;  reminded  them  that  change  was  not  always  improve 
ment;  that  the  change  then  sought  began  in  the  west  for  sectional  power; 
that  it  was  the  work  of  'mushroom  politicians,'  seeking  place  and  power 
in  the  only  way  in  which  they  could  attain  them. 

He  next  adverted  to  the  social,  civil  and  religious  liberty  the  people  of 
^Virginia  enjoyed,  and  asked  what  more  they  wanted.  "Ah!  but,"  said 
he,  "  politicians  want  more  !  They  want  the  right  of  suffrage  extended  ! 
And  for  what?  Only  that  upon  it  they  may  ride  into  office!"  And  here 
he  denied  the  right  upon  sound  governmental  principles  of  any  man  to 
vote  to  tax,  or  impose  any  other  State  burden  upon  the  people  of  Virginia 
to-day,  and  to  morrow  set  out  for  Pennsylvania  or  New  York,  there  to  re 
main  beyond  the  reach  of  accountability  for  injuries  inflicted  on  Virginia. 
He  admitted  the  difficulty  of  prescribing  exact  limits  to  the  right  of  suf 
frage,  but  believed  that  Virginia  had  come  nearer  to  it  than  other  States,  if 
viz :  in  allowing  it  to  none  but  those  who  had  a  "  permanent  interest  in 
the  soil."  This  restriction  he  said  had  been  adopted  as  a  part  of  her  con 
stitution  after  mature  deliberation  by  some  of  the  wisest  and  purest  states 
men  and  sages  the  world  had  ever  produced. 

Here  he  dwelt  at  considerable  length  on  State  and  national  authorities, 
defining  the  boundaries  of  each,  and  cautioning  the  people  against  con- 
:flict  with  the  powers  delegated  to  the  General  Govetnment,  maintaining 
that  delegated  power  was  all  that  it  could  claim,  and  all  not  thus  obtained 
belonged  to  the  States  severally,  or  to  the  people.  He  admonished  them 
to  make  no  encroachment  on  the  rights  of  the  Federal  Government,  and 
to  suffer  none  to  be  made  on  their  own;  said  that  a  reckless  disregard 
of  these  powers,  or  a  false  interpretation  of  them  by  unqualified  men  in 
power,  had  on  several  occasions  come  very  nigh  destroying  our  beautiful 
political  fabric,  then  being  watched  with  jealousy  by  every  monarchist  on 
earth.  He  adverted  to  Shay's  and  Shattock's  war  in  Massachusetts,  the 
whiskey  insurrection  in  Pennsylvania,  &c.,  as  instances  of  the  precipitate 
action  of  hasty,  incompetent  men;  and  in  the  same  connection  severely 
•animadverted  on  the  Missouri  compromise  as  a  political  measure  of  like 


60  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

character,  hasty,  ill-advised,  weak,  and  fraught  only  with  present  humilia 
tion  and  future  danger. 

Here  he  drew  a  striking  and  vivid  picture  of  "the  Old  Ship  of  State" 
sailing  amongst  these  breakers,  and,  with  extended  arms  and  eyes  raised 
to  heaven,  he  threw  his  body  forward  (as  if  to  catch  her),  crying  as  he  did 
so  in  a  half  imploring,  half  confident  tone,  "God  save  the  Old  Ship!" 
It  was  the  most  solemn,  the  most  impressive  gesture  I  ever  saw  from  any 
human  being ;  and  so  powerful  was  the  impression  made,  that  the  whole 
multitude,  many  with  extended  arms,  seemed  to  move  involuntarily  for 
ward,  as  if  to  help  save  the  sinking  ship." 

After  portraying  many  of  the  evils  of  an  extended  ballot,  he  raised  his 
eyes  to  heaven,  and  in  an  humble,  Christian-like  manner,  thanked  God 
that  in  all  our  difficulties  we  yet  had  a  pure  judiciary.  "  Fellow-citi 
zens,"  said  he,  "keep  your  judiciary  pure,  and  your  liberties  are  safe.  Le\  ^"N 
it  become  contaminated  by  political  strife,  and  all  will  be  gone !  The 
name  of  liberty  alone  will  remain  to  you  a  phantom,  a  will-o'-the  wisp,  to 
lure  you  on  to  degradation,  and  the  destruction  of  all  that  is  dear  to  you 
now.'  From  the  bench  to  the  jury  box  these  feelings  would  gradually 
find  their  way,  until  courts  of  justice  would  become  mere  instruments  for 
'rewarding  friends  and  punishing  opponents.  Let  the  candid  observer  of 
passing  events  say  how  far  these  predictions  have  reached  their  fulfilment. 

Mr.  Randolph  reminded  his  hearers  that  during  a  long  life  in  Congress 
he  had  often  been  taunted  with — "You  never  propose  anything!"  "You 
are  always  trying  to  tear  down  other  men's  work!"  Pausing  a  moment, 
with  that  long  finger  pointing  back  from  the  top  of  his  forehead,  he  said: 
"  True,  and  I  regard  it  as  the  brightest  feather  in  my  cap.  My  whole  aim 
has  been  to  prevent,  not  to  promote,  legislation.  Our  people  need  but  few 
laws,  couched  in  plain,  simple  language.  Litigation  would  then  be  rarer, 
and  our  troubles  would  almost  cease !"  He  said  it  was  with  pain  and  mis 
givings  that  he  beheld  the  tendency  throughout  the  country  to  excessive 
legislation,  and  called  attention  to  the  prediction  he  would  then  hazard,, 
that  if  this  country  should  ever  be  destroyed  it  would  be  by  '  excessive 
legislation.' 

He  next  gave  an  outline  of  his  course  in  Congress,  his  opposition  to  the 
Tariff  and  to  the  United  States  Bank ;  said  there  was  no  warrant  in  the  con 
stitution  for  any  such  institution  as  the  latter;  that  ours  was  intended  for  a 
"hard  money"  government;  that  he  had  it  from  many  of  the  fathers  of 
the  constitution;  that  he  had  lived  in  their  day,  and  was  familiar  with 


OF   JOHN   RANDOLPH.  61 

their  sentiments  on  that  subject.  He  said  he  would  be  the  veriest  dunce 
on  earth  if  he  were  unacquainted  with  the  fundamental  principles  of 
government,  for  he  had  grown  up  and  become  familiar  with  many  of  the 
leading  men  of  Virginia  who  had  assisted  in  the  conception  and  erection 
of  the  mighty  political  fabric  under  which  we  lived,  and  enjoyed  all  the 
blessings  of  a  free  and  happy  people.  Said  he,  "  Mind,  gentlemen,  how 
you  touch  it ;  how  you  set  about  with  innovation.  Once  gone,  you  may 
never  restore  it.  Revolutions  never  go  back,  but  on  and  on  they  roll;  no 
returning  tide  brings  repose;  no  bow  of  promise  spans  their  dark  horizon. 
On  and  o.i  they  go,  until  all  is  swallowed  up  in  the  abyss  of  anarchy  and 
ruin!" 

During  the  long  and  entertaining  speech,  every  man,  of  both  races, 
seemed  bound  to  the  earth  on  which  he  stood ;  not  one  moved. 

The  convention,  however, was  called;  Mr.  Randolph  was  elected  to  it; 
served  with  characteristic  fidelity,  and  returned  to  Halifax  in  1829,10  give 
an  account  of  his  stewardship.  By  his  arduous  labors  in  that  body  his 
health  had  suffered  greatly;  he  was  too  feeble  to  speak  out  doors,  and  the 
county  court,  then  in  session,  tendered  him  the  court-house,  which  he 
gratefully  accepted.  As  he  moved  up  to  the  bench,  it  was  apparent  to  k 
every  one  that  he  lacked  the  physical  ability  to  entertain  the  people  as  he  ™ 
had  done  on  the  previous  occasion.  Taking  his  stand  on  the  county  court 
bench,  and  supporting  himself  with  one  hand  on  the  railing,  and  the  other 
on  his  cane,  he  began  by  returning  his  thanks  in  a  polite  and  graceful 
manner  to  the  worshipful  court  for  their  kindness  in  suspending  their  busi 
ness  to  accommodate  one  who  needed  so  much  their  consideration.  He 
told  them  it  must  be  plain  to  all  that  it  was  the  last  speech  he  should  ever 
•make  in  Halifax.  He  gave  a  succinct  statement  of  all  the  various  alter 
ations  (he  would  not  call  them  amendments)  proposed  to  the  constitution, 
and  advised  the  people  to  vote  against  them. 

He  then  showed  what  he  called  a  trick  of  the  convention  in  submitting 
the  ratification  or  rejection  of  the  proposed  alterations  to  the  vote  of  the 
people. 

"Who  called  the  convention?"  he  asked.  "The  freeholders!  Who 
had  the  right  to  say  whether  the  work  was  done  according  to  their  wishes 
but  those  who  ordered  it?  No  one!  The  non-freeholders,  according  to 
all  the  rules  of  legitimate  induction,  had  no  more  right  to  vote  on  that 
question  than  the  people  of  Hayti.  " 

Mr.  Randolph  was,  in  every  respect,  a  great  man.     As  a  statesman  he 


62  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

had  no  superior,  and  but  few  equals.  As  a  philosopher  and  student  of 
history  he  stood  in  the  foremost  ranks,  while  as  an  orator  he  would  com 
pare  with  any  that  the  iQth  century  has  produced. 

His  voice  was  uncommonly  shrill,  but  was  of  that  soft  flute-like  char 
acter  that  always  elicited  admiration,  and  feeble  as  he  was  for  nearly  his 
whole  life,  he  could  always  so  modulate  it  as  to  make  every  member  of 
the  largest  assemblies  distinctly  hear  every  word  that  he  uttered,  and  that 
without  the  least  strain  on  his  vocal  or  respiratory  organs. 

For  the  following  curious  incident  we  are  indebted  to  Colo 
nel  Thomas  S.  Flournoy,  who,  though  a  lad  at  the  time,  has 
a  vivid  recollection  of  the  scene  he  describes. 

He  says  that,  in  the  year  1829,  he  and  his  father  were  on 
their  way  to  Halifax  Court-house;  about  sunset  they  stop 
ped  at  Roanoke;  Johnny,  Mr.  Randolph's  body  servant,  met 
them,  and  informed  his  master  of  their  arrival.  They  were 
invited  into  Mr.  Randolph's  bed  room,  and  what  followed 
we  will  give  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  language  of  our  wit 
ness.  Colonel  Flournoy  is  a  man  of  national  reputation,  and 
we  are  glad  to  have  such  undoubted  authority  for  the  strange 
statement  which  he  makes.  He  says:  "My  father  inquired 
after  Mr.  Randolph's  health.  His  reply  was:  'John,  I  am 
dying ;  I  shall  not  live  through  the  night.' 

"  My  father  informed  him  that  we  were  on  our  way  to 
Halifax  court.  He  requested  us  to  say  to  the  people  on 
Monday,  court  'day,  that  he  was  no  longer  a  candidate  for 
the  convention ;  that  he  did  not  expect  to  live  through  the 
night,  certainly  not  till  the  meeting  of  the  convention. 

"  He  soon  began  to  discuss  the  questions  of  reform  and 
the  proposed  changes  in  the  constitution.  Becoming  ex 
cited,  he  seemed  to  forget  that  he  was  a  '  dying'  man.  In  a 
short  time  we  were  invited  to  tea,  and  when  we  returned  to 
his  room  we  found  him  again  in  a  '  dying'  condition ;  but,  as 
before,  he  soon  began  to  discuss  the  subject  of  the  conven- 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  63. 

tion;  and  becoming  more  and  more  animated,  he  rose  up  in 
bed — my  father  and  myself  being  the  only  auditors — and 
delivered  one  of  the  most  interesting  speeches,  in  conversa 
tional  style,  that  it  was  ever  my  good  fortune  to  hear,  occu 
pying  the  time,  from  half  past  eight,  until  midnight. 

"  The  next  morning,  immediately  after  breakfast,  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  sent  for  us  again.  We  found  him  again  in  a  'dying' 
condition.  He  stated  to  us  that  he  was  satisfied  that  he 
would  not  live  through  the  day,  and  repeated  his  request 
that  my  father  would  have  it  announced  to  the  people  of 
Halifax  that  he  declined  being  a  candidate  for  the  conven 
tion.  Once  more  he  became  animated  while  discussing  the 
convention,  and  kept  us  till  10  o'clock  at  his  house.  When 
we  were  about  to  start  he  took  solemn  leave  of  us,  saying : 
'  In  all  probability  you  will  never  see  me  again.' 

"  Before  we  reached  Clarke's  Ferry,  five  miles  distant,  I 
heard  some  one  coming  on  horseback,  pushing  to  overtake 
us,  which  proved  to  be  Mr.  Randolph,  with  Johnny  in  a 
sulky  following. 

"  We  traveled  on  together  until  we  came  to  the  road  lead 
ing  to  Judge  Leigh's.  Mr.  Randolph  then  left  us,  to  spend 
the  night  with  Judge  Leigh.  The  next  morning,  Monday, 
he  rode  nine  miles  to  court,  where  an  immense  crowd  of 
people  had  assembled  to  hear  him.  He  addressed  them  in 
the  open  air  on  the  subject  of  the  convention  in  a  strain  of 
argument  and  sarcastic  eloquence  rarely  equalled  by  any 
one." 

We  will  close  this  chapter  with  the  following  graphic  de 
scription  of  Mr.  Randolph's  personal  appearance  and  style 
of  speaking,  by  Mr.  James  M.  Whittle,  a  distinguished  and 
gifted  member  of  the  bar  of  Pittsylvania  county,  Virginia. 
The  article  is  headed :  "  Boyhood's  Recollections  of  John. 
Randolph  of  Roanoke." 


HOME    REMINISCENCES 

At  March  term  1821  of  Prince  Edward  county  court,  it  was  expected 
that  Mr.  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke  would  be  present,  on  his  way  home 
from  Washington  city,  on  the  close  of  the  then  recent  session  of  Congress. 
I  was  then  a  boy  at  school  in  the  neighborhood — in  my  sixteenth  year. 
The  universal  expectation  of  this  event,  as  usual,  induced  a  general  desire 
among  the  people  to  look  upon  this  strange  man,  as  much  so  to  those  who 
had  seen  him  from  his  youth  up,  to  his  constituents,  whom  he  had  repre 
sented  in  Congress  for  more  than  twenty  years,  as  to  those  who  had  de 
rived  their  impressions  of  him  from  the  tongue  of  rumor  alone.  It  was 
near  the  time  of  the  congressional  election,  for  which  he  stood  a  candi 
date;  and  in  the  session  just  ended  had  been  settled,  as  was  supposed,  the 
"  Missouri  question,"  after  convulsive  struggles  of  two  sessions.  The 
crowd  found  at  court  was  much  larger  than  usual,  and  throbbing  with 
anxiety  to  see — hopingly — to  hear  a  man,  so  extraordinary  in  all  respects, 
that  a  promiscuous  mingling  with  my  race,  in  many  differing  phases,  in 
the  long  years  which  have  since  rolled  away,  has  failed  to  furnish  me  with 
a  suggestion — much  less  a  likeness — of  him. 

In  a  short  time  after  reaching  the  court-house,  groups  of  people  were 
seen  hurrying  to  a  spot  down  the  road,  some  hundred  yards  off.  Joining 
the  throng,  I  followed  on,  and  discovered  a  dense  crowd  surrounding  a 
person  in  a  sulky,  drawn  by  a  gray  horse,  and  behind  it  a  negro  seated  on 
another  of  the  same  color,  apparently  its  match.  The  heads  of  these 
animals  were  lifted  high  above  the  spectators,  and  looked  down  upon 
them  with  disdainful  pride.  On  approaching  it  was  observed  that  the 
sulky  and  harness  were  deep  black,  with  brilliant  plated  mountings,  the 
shafts  bent  to  a  painful  segment  of  a  circle,  the  horses  of  the  best  keep, 
as  doubtless  they  were  of  the  highest  blood.  The  servant,  who  was  of 
the  profoundest  sable,  carried  a  high  black  portmanteau  behind  him,  and 
was  attired  in  clothing  of  the  same  hue.  Quite  a  strong  contrast — possi 
bly  designed — was  exhibited  between  the  masses  of  intense  darkness  and 
the  plating,  the  horses,  the  teeth  and  shirt  collar  of  the  servant.  The  or 
der  of  the  whole  equipage  was  complete.  The  tenant  of  the  sulky  was 
.as  frail  a  man  as  I  have  ever  seen.  He  was  conversing  pleasantly  with 
the  people. 

I  heard  nothing  he  said.  He  soon  bowed  gracefully  to  the  crowd, 
which  gave  way  before  him,  and  he  passed  on,  it  following  him.  The 
throng  increased  as  he  proceeded  to  an  old-fashioned  Virginia  inn  near 
the  court-house,  by  which  time  it  was  swollen  by  the  addition  of  most 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  65 

•of  the  persons  on  the  ground,  and  became  a  dense  mass.  A  twitch 
was  felt  by  some  of  the  spectators,  at  observing  so  delicate  a  man  at  the 
mercy  of  apparently  so  terrific  a  horse,  which  seemed  to  have  its  driver 
completely  in  its  power,  but  which  he  managed  with  entire  composure. 
Mr.  Randolph  alighted  with  a  feeble  step,  passed  through  the  porch  of  the 
inn,  into  a  passage,  followed  by  a  crowd,  and  disappeared  within  a  room, 
the  door  of  which  was  immediately  closed.  The  people  remained  before 
the  door  of  the  inn,  awaiting  his  reappearance,  without  noise  or  confu 
sion.  After  lolling  awhile,  Mr.  Randolph  came  out  and  proceeded  toward 
the  court-house.  The  crowd  followed — keeping  a  respectful  distance; 
by  his  side  walked  some  of  his  elderly  and  prominent  constituents,  with 
whom  he  conversed  familiarly  on  the  way.  It  happened  to  me  to  have  a 
position  from  which  I  could  discern  his  form  and  action.  He  was  the 
merest  skeleton  of  a  man;  any  boy  of  fifteen  could,  likely,  have  mastered 
him.  His  extreme  emaciation  may  have  magnified  his  apparent  height, 
which  was  about  six  feet.  There  seemed  to  be  a  want  of  action  about 
his  knees,  which  were  somewhat  in-turned.  He  drew  them  up  in  walk 
ing,  and  did  not  throw  his  feet  boldly  forward.  More  than  the  usual 
amount  of  the  bottom  of  the  feet  was  seen  as  he  moved,  and  he  placed 
these  directly  forward  as  the  Indians  do.  On  reaching  the  court-house 
pale,  he  stopped  and  conversed  with  a  good  many  people,  when  a  lawyer 
came  up  and  introduced  one  of  his  brethren  to  Mr.  Randolph.  The  latter 
passed  through  the  introduction  with  commanding  dignity  and  grace. 
Having  passed  over  the  steps  within  the  court-house  yard,  some  of  his 
constituents  solicited  him  to  speak  to  the  people;  this  he  seemed  reluctant 
to  do,  but  after  some  importunity  he  consented,  and  retired  to  a  bench 
near  by,  put  his  elbows  about  his  knees,  inserted  his  head  between  his 
hands,  and  seemed  to  be  in  profound  meditation  for  a  few  moments.  In 
this  position,  the  want  of  proportion  between  the  length  of  his  body  and 
of  his  lower  limbs  was  striking,  so  much  so  that  his  knees  seemed  to  in 
trude  themselves  into  his  face.  He  then  approached  the  steps  with  a  lan 
guid  and  infirm  tread,  ascended  them,  took  off  his  hat,  and  made  his  bow 
to  his  audience  in  the  most  impressive  and  majestic  manner  that  can  be  con 
ceived.  It  may  be  doubted  whether  there  lives  in  America  a  man  who 
can  do  this  as  he  did  it.  His  countenance  and  manner  were  solemn — fu 
nereal.  Subsequent  information  enabled  me  to  account  for  what  would 
seem  to  have  been  without  occasion.  He  had  just  emerged  from  a  contest 

in  Congress,  running  through  two  sessions,  into  which  he  had  thrown  his 
5 


66  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

whole  power,  the  result  of  which  had  filled  him  with  apprehensions  of  the 
ruin  of  the  Union,  and  from  the  rebound  of  the  loosened  tension  he  was 
left  sick  and  solemn.  The  outer  man  was  now  fully  presented  to  those 
before  him.  He  was  evidently  a  great  sufferer  from  disease,  and  likely 
the  sturdy  working  of  his  impatient  intellect  had  strained  too  severely  the 
feeble  case  which  contained  it.  He  appeared  to  be  the  Englishman  and 
Indian  mixed.  The  latter  assuming  the  outer,  the  former  the  larger  part 
of  the  inner  man.  His  dress  was  all  English — all  over.  His  hat  was 
black;  his  coat  was  blue,  with  brilliant  metallic  buttons  and  velvet  collar; 
his  breeches  and  vest  drab,  with  fair-topped  English  boots  and  massive 
silver  spurs— likely  they  were  ancestral;  his  watch  ribbon  sustained  a 
group  of  small  seals — heirlooms,  it  may  be,  from  times  beyond  Cromwell. 
His  age  must  have  been  about  forty-three ;  his  hair  was  bright  brown, 
straight,  not  perceptibly  gray,  thrown  back  from  his  forehead  and  lied 
into  a  queue,  neither  long  nor  thick.  His  complexion  was  swarthy ;  his 
face  beardless,  full,  round  and  plump;  his  eye  hazel,  brilliant,  inquisitive, 
proud ;  his  mouth  was  of  delicate  cast,  well  suited  to  a  small  head  and 
face,  filled  with  exquisite  teeth,  well  kept  as  they  could  be;  his  lips 
painted,  as  it  were,  with  indigo,  indicating  days  of  suffering  and  nights 
of  torturing  pain.  His  hands  were  as  fair  and  delicate  as  any  girl's. 
Every  part  of  his  dress  and  person  was  evidently  accustomed  to  the  ut 
most  care. 

His  face  was  the  most  beautiful  and  attractive  to  me  I  had  almost  ever 
seen.  There  was  no  acerbity  about  it  that  day,  his  manner  was  calm  and 
bland,  though  sustained  by  a  graceful  and  lofty  dignity.  It  was  appre 
hended  that  a  body  so  frail  encased  a  group  of  shattered  and  tremulous 
nerves,  and  that  the  prominence  of  his  position,  and  what  was  expected  of 
him,  might  put  these  in  an  ague  of  agitation.  Though  he  was  as  much  ex 
cited  as  a  speaker  could  well  be,  yet  he  did  not  betray  his  emotion  by  any  ' 
quivering  of  a  lip,  tremor  of  a  nerve,  or  hurry  of  a  word.  He  seemed  in 
this,  as  in  most  other  respects,  to  differ  from  all  other  men.  He  was  calm, 
slow  and  solemn  throughout  his  address.  The  text  of  it,  as  has  been  in 
timated,  was  the  "Missouri  compromise,"  and  he  expended  not  more  than 
fifteen  minutes  in  its  delivery.  His  manner  was  deliberate,  beyond  any 
speaker  I  have  ever  heard.  This  so  differed  from  my  expectation  of  him, 
as  to  dispel  the  ideal  of  tempestuous  rapidity,  which  his  cynic  and  impas 
sioned  reputation  had  inspired.  It  was  obvious,  however,  that  the  su 
preme  mastery  which  he  had  over  himself  was  essential  to  the  deadly  aim 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  67 

of  his  arrow,  and  the  fatal  mixing  of  the  poison  in  which  he  dipped  it. 
He  stood  firm  in  his  position,  his  action  and  grace  seemed  to  be  from  the 
knee  up.  His  voice  was  that  of  a  well-toned  flageolet,  the  key  conver 
sational,  though  swelled  to  its  utmost  compass.  The  grandeur  of  his  mien 
and  his  impressive  salutation  may  have  composed  his  audience  into  the 
deep  silence  which  prevailed,  but  the  uttering  of  a  few  words  disclosed  a 
power  of  engaging  attention  which  I  have  met  with  in  no  other  man — his 
articulation.  Without  this,  it  is  hard  to  conceive  how,  in  the  open  air,  he 
could  have  been  so  distinctly  heard  by  so  large  a  mass.  He  was  greatly 
aided  too  by  his  self-possession,  as  in  his  feeble  state  it  must  have  been  es 
sential,  to  command  every  faculty  and  every  art  which  could  contribute  to 
the  result  desired.  Not  only  every  word  and  syllable,  but  it  seemed  that 
every  letter  of  every  word  in  every  syllable  was  distinctly  sounded.  There 
was  a  perceptible  interval  it  appeared  between  each  of  his  words  as  they 
dropped  one  by  one  from  his  lips,  and  that  he  had  supplied  himself  with  a 
given  quantum  of  speech  before  he  commenced,  determined  by  its  judi 
cious  use  to  accomplish  a  proposed  effect. 

These  words,  written  and  read,  would  hardly  occasion  any  remark,  ex 
cept  perhaps  that  if  he  had  not  a  foresight,  which  was  extraordinary,  there 
was  a  rare  coincidence  between  what  he  said  would  occur,  and  what,  forty- 
four  years  afterwards,  actually  did  occur  at  Appomattox  Court-house — the 
overthrow  of  that  Union  under  which  we  then  lived,  and  that  it  resulted 
from  the  causes  which  he  indicated. 

But  his  words  were  only  a  part  of  the  performance,  the  uttering  of  but 
a  few  of  those  showed  that  he  was  an  actor.  They  were  few,  so  were  his 
gestures,  but  they  were  as  expressive  as  his  words.  I  had  studied  some  of 
the  orations  of  Cicero,  and  had  read  of  Roscius;  but  I  could  not  under 
stand  the  power  of  the  latter  over  his  spectators  until  that  day.  Had  Mr. 
Randolph  lived  when  pantomine  was  in  vogue,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  he 
could  have  communicated  his  thoughts  and  feelings  effectually,  though  he 
spake  never  a  word.  As  he  proceeded,  the  impression  was,  there  is  Cicero 
and  Roscius  combined,  two  men  in  one,  Cicero  within,  Roscius  without. 
The  auditors  of  course  yielded  themselves  prompt  and  willing  captives. 
This  combination  required  deliberation  for  its  display,  otherwise  it  cannot 
be  conceived  how  so  much  time  was  consumed  in  uttering  so  few  words 
without  any  apparent  impatience  of  his  hearers,  or  that  throbbing  twitter 
which  is  felt  when  expectation  is  excited,  and  held  too  long  in  suspense. 

I  did  not  comprehend  the  subject  he  was  discussing,  nor  know  even  its 


68  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

leading  facts,  but  he  dwelt  chiefly  on  the  dissolution  of  the  Union  as  the 
effect  of  the  compromise;  and  here  Roscius  did  well  act  his  part.  As  if 
startled  by  the  bursting  asunder  of  the  materials  of  some  massive  building, 
in  which  he  was,  he  drew  up  his  shoulders,  his  head  seemed  to  sink  be 
tween  them,  his  bust  was  bent  forward,  and  his  face  filled  with  horror. 
His  concluding  words:  "We  fought  manfully  the  good  right,  and  we  are 
beaten,"  seem  inadequate  to  any  oratorical  effect;  but  Roscius  took  them 
up,  and  equipped  them  for  their  work.  The  speaker  must  allude  to  the 
faithful  valor  of  the  combat — how  "manfully"  it  was  fought — here  the 
fever-parched  lips  were  compressed,  the  finger  pointed  to  the  skies,  and 
bowing  in  sad  but  lofty  recognition  of  his  fate,  and  with  a  countenance 
hung  with  pictures  of  anxiety,  came  the  words — "  We  are  beaten,"  and  he 
retired. 

In  the  Congress  just  ended,  the  State  of  Maryland  was  represented  in 
the  Senate  by  William  Pinckney,  Esq.,  who  is  deemed  to  have  delivered 
the  ablest  speech  on  the  "  Missouri  question"  which  had  ever  been  made 
in  this  country.  Had  Mr.  Randolph  been  as  ambitious  of  fame  as  Mr. 
Pinckney,  and  had  devoted  himself  as  he  had  done  to  the  preparation  of 
his  speeches,  and  the  manner  of  their  delivery,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  Mr. 
Pinckney  could  with  more  propriety  have  made  the  motion  in  the  Senate, 
which  Mr.  Randolph  did  in  the  lower  House,  when  the  former  was  about 
to  speak:  "  I  move  that  this  House  do  now  adjourn,  to  hear  the  first  ora 
tor  of  this  or  any  other  age." 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  69 


CHAPTER  VI. 

His  Economy — Acts  of  Kindness — "Flowers  Produce  Fruit" — "Genius 
Not  Desirable " — Reproof  to  a  Schoolboy  for  Cutting  a  Cane  in  his 
Forest — Obituary  of  Joel  W.  Watkins — Treatment  of  Mrs.  Royal — 
Preaching  to  his  Slaves — Scene  in  the  Library — "  The  Bible  is  True" — 
Incidents  by  Dr.  Isaac  Read. 

IN  digesting  our  notes  of  Mr.  Randolph,  we  found  that 
the  dark  side  increased  rapidly,  while  we  had  compara 
tively  few  data  with  which  to  build  up  the  bright  side. 

One  of  his  biographers  dismisses  the  latter  branch  of  his 
subject  in  very  short  order.  After  enumerating  all  of  his 
bad  qualities,  he  says :  "  We  may  be  asked,  were  there  no 
virtues,  no  redeeming  traits  in  the  character  of  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  ;  as  a  counterbalance  to  this  long  array  of  antagonistic 
ones?"  He  is  forced  to  admit  "some  of  a  negative  kind," 
which  he  enumerates  in  less  than  a  dozen  lines. 

We  have  been  particular  to  note  down  every  incident  fur 
nished  us  by  Mr.  Randolph's  old  neighbors  and  acquaint 
ances,  illustrating  his  good  qualities,  or  mitigating  the  bad. 
Our  effort  is  to  draw  him  as  he  was. 

He  is  represented  as  being  terribly  repulsive  to  his  foes  ; 
but  to  his  friends  he  was  often  gentle,  kind  and  fascinating. 
He  did  not  always  outrage  the  feelings  of  an  opponent.  We 
find  from  the  manuscript  of  Mr.  Bouldin,  that  when  Jerman 
Baker  was  a  rival  candidate  for  Congress,  he  treated  him 
with  great  kindness  and  forbearance. 

He  was  exceedingly  cleanly  in  his  habits,  and  dressed 
with  great  neatness  and  care;  and  "the  neatness  of  his 


70  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

household  affairs,"  says  Mr.  Bouldin,  "  was  truly  remarkable." 
His  table  was  furnished  with  food  of  the  best  quality,  dressed 
in  the  most  palatable  manner,  and  his  cellar  was  furnished 
with  wine  and  other  spirits  of  the  finest  description.  His 
economy  in  housekeeping  was  praiseworthy  and  remark 
able.  And  not  only  that,  but  his  whole  style  of  living  was 
creditable  to  him.  For  a  long  time  he  lived  in  a  log  house, 
never  in  a  fine  one.  He  had  no  unnecessary  furniture,  but 
what  he  had  was,  for  the  most  part,  of  the  best  materials. 

Those  who  were  unacquainted  with  his  real  condition, 
who  saw  only  his  visible  effects — his  large  tracts  of  land  and 
his  hundreds  of  negro  slaves,  were  not  in  every  instance 
disposed  to  commend  his  economy.  Doubtless  there  were 
those  who  thought  he  ought  to  have  built  a  fine  dwelling, 
and  rivalled  in  hospitality  and  display  his  ancestors  of  Colo 
nial  times.  This  is  the  reason  why  Mr.  James  W.  Bouldin 
remarked  in  his  sketch  of  Mr.  Randolph,  that  if  his  indebt 
edness  was  generally  known  it  was  not  generally  borne  in 
mind  by  those  who  have  spoken  of  him.  Mr.  W.  B.  Green, 
in  his  recollections,  states  that  he  happened  to  know  that  he 
was  nearly  always  hard  run  for  money,  having  himself  been 
under  the  disagreeable  necessity  of  calling  his  attention  to 
the  settlement  of  a  small  amount  which  had  been  due  for 
several  years.  He  states  that  he  was  also  acquainted  with 
other  facts,  in  relation  to  his  pecuniary  affairs,  which  showed 
a  want  of  promptitude  in  the  settlement  of  accounts.  It  is 
true  that  he  inherited  a  large  and  princely  estate,  by  far  the 
largest  in  the  county,  yet  it  was  under  a  heavy  British  mort 
gage.  Mr.  Green  states  that  this  mortgage  was  not  entirely 
extinguished  until  after  his  mission  to  Russia.  "  The  receipt 
of  salary  and  outfit,"  remarks  Mr.  Green,  "enabled  him  to 
pay  all  his  debts  and  purchase  the  'Bushy  Forest'  estate." 

To  show  how  minutely  attentive  he  was  to  his  plantation 


OF  JOHN   RANDOLPH. 


71 


affairs,  we  will  make  an  exact  copy  of  a  slip  of  paper  in  Mr. 
Randolph's  own  hand-writing,  which  was  found  between  the 
leaves  of  one  of  his  books,  purchased  at  the  auction  sale  of 
his  effects  after  his  death : 


The  Beds  are  to  be  shared  as  follows:  eight  yards  of  oznaburgs  to  a 


bed. 


Middle  Quarter. 

Simon  &  Effy 
Essex  dr5  Jenny 
Mingo  (Sr5  Jenny 
Amos  (Sr5  Agga 
Jim  6°  Jenny 
Rogers  6°  Hannah 
Othello  6°  Nancy 
Peter  {Smith}  6°  Jenny 
Maria 

nine 

Ferry  Quarter 
Molly,  Robinson 's  wife 
Nancy,  Ishairfs  wife 
Betty,  Johny's  wife 
'  Geoffrey  &>  Phoebe 
x  Jim  (Sr5  Garmonth 
'  York  6-  Amy 
'Abram  6°  Lavania 
Farrar  {Pompey*s  wife 
'  Nero 

Maria 

'  John  &°  Lucy 
Katy 
Isbel 
fourteen  beds 


'9 
14 


Lower  Quarter. 

f  Abram  6°  Sarey 
'  Quashee  6°  Molly 
'  Archer  6°  Nancy 

Jerry  (Heffy^s  daughter. 
f  Henry  dr5  Lavinia 
f  Moses  dr9  Phoebe 
'  Phil  6-  Amelia 

Nancy  (Anthony's  wife] 
Anna  (Remus'1  s  wife] 

Old  Jane 
Old  Aggey 
Isham  &  Finey 

Chloe 


Savery 

Aggy  &  Effy 
Little  Quashee 
seventeen  beds 


Stockings  to  be  given  two  pair  apiece 
to  each  of  the  men  above  mamed  *  and 
also  to  the  following.     See  over  leaf. 
*  except  Little  Quashee  &>  Old  Quashee 
who  have  had  here.     Also  Waggoner 
8  yards  Jimmy  has  had.    Aaron  &°  little  Hen 
ry  have  also  had  stockings  here. 
320  yards 
2iq  Sent  by  Quashee. 


40  a 


72 


HOME    REMINISCENCES 

Stockings  shared  to  the  twenty-two  men  and  the  -women 
on  the  other  page  who  are  to  have  beds  and  the  following  in 


addition. 

Lower  Quarter 

Middle  Quarter 

Hampton 

Sam 

Ccesar 

Phil,  Essex's  son 

Manuel 

Phil  Carpenter 

Guy 

Billy  (Smith] 

Isaac 

Billy  Carpenter. 

5 

Isham  6°  Simon  's  son 

Paul 

forty  -three  men  ~\        No.  of  pair 

Isham  &  Nero^s  son 

2  pair  apiece    J                86 

Ned  Carpenter 

Thiry-four  women 

Ben 

i    ditto    ditto                    34 

Berkley 



Harry  Carper 

I2O 

12 

Sent  by  Quashee 

Terry 

Ten  dozen  pair                      120 

Jim  Boy 

Billy  (Miltys  son} 

Isaac 

Note — 7^he  men  are  forty  three  in  number,  viz,  22 — 12 — j — 4.  They 
must  have  two  pair  apiece  and  the  women  one  pair  (except  those  who  have 
a  line  drawn  tinder  their  names.  There  are  thirty  seven  women  of  whom 
Molly  Jane  &°  Chloe  at  the  Lower  Quarter  and  Nanny  ( Othello1  s  wife] 
at  the  Middle  Quarter  are  to  have  no  stockings" 

Even  these  little  memoranda,  written  in  Mr.  Randolph's 
own  hand-writing,  point  to  several  traits  of  character — his 
attention  to  the  details  of  business,  his  power  to  contract  his 
ample  mind  to  the  humblest  duties  of  life.  He  also  kept  a 
diary  during  the  greater  portion  of  his  life,  commencing  his 
first  entries  in  youth.  R.  A.  Brock,  Esq.,  of  Richmond,  has 
a  copy  of  it,  the  original  being  in  the  possession  of  the 
grand  niece  of  Mr.  Randolph,  Mrs.  Cynthia  B.  Coleman,  of 
Williamsburg,  Va. 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  78 

Mr.  Randolph  was  a  good  master  to  his  servants,  as  a 
general  rule.  Though  he  occasionally  flew  out  into  violent 
fits  of  rage  against  them,  he  was  for  the  most  part  very  kind 
to  them.  He  always  provided  well  for  their  physicial,  and 
was  not  inattentive  to  their  spiritual  wants.  His  negroes 
lived  in  fear  of  him,  but  they -were  bound  to  respect  him. 
There  was  something  so  lofty  in  the  bearing  of  their  master, 
so  brilliant  and  comprehensive  in  his  genius,  that,  to  their 
humble  minds,  he  appeared  almost  a  God.  His  servants 
were  the  best  and  politest  in  the  county.  One  of  his  male 
servants  could  have  been  invariably  recognized  by  his  taking 
off  his  hat  when  he  met  a  white  man  in  the  road ;  a  female 
servant  would  always  make  a  courtesy.  Mr.  Randolph  him 
self  never  failed  to  speak  to  his  field  hands,  and  he  knew  the 
names  of  all  of  them.  His  manner  was  to.  take  off  his  hat 
when  he  addressed  his  overseers.  In  his  intercourse  with 
his  neighbors,  to  whom  he  took  a  fancy,  he  was  punctual  in 
performing  all  the  offices  of  neighborly  kindness. 

The  following  circumstance  will  show  that  he  knew  how 
to  confer  a  great  favor,  and  in  the  most  becoming  manner ; 
unlike  some,  who  cancel  in  a  measure  the  obligation  by  the 
unhappy  style  of  conferring  it. 

One  of  Mr.  Randolph's  young  friends  once  went  from 
home  leaving  his  crop  in  a  very  bad  condition.  It  was  in 
great  danger  of  being  eaten  up  by  the  grass.  To  his  great 
surprise  and  relief,  when  he  came  home  he  found  a  large 
number  of  plows  and  horses  sweeping  over  his  corn  fields 
at  the  grandest  rate.  He  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  it. 
Having  asked  nobody  for  help,  he  was  totally  at  a  loss  to 
discover  to  whom  he  was  indebted  for  such  an  unusual  act 
of  kindness. 

They  were  the  hands  of  Mr.  Randolph.  The  overseer 
was  told  by  him  to  watch  the  farming  operations  of  his 


74  HOME     REMINISCENCES 

young  friend,  and  whenever  he  found  that  he  needed  assist 
ance,  to  render  it  without  his  asking. 

Mr.  Randolph's  conversational  powers  impressed  every 
one  that  came  within  the  sound  of  his  voice.  We  shall  not 
soon  forget  the  pleasant  hour  we  spent  with  Mrs.  Joseph  M. 
Daniel,  the  venerable  wife  of  the  witness  in  the  will  case, 
whose  testimony  we  shall  place  before  the  reader  in  another 
chapter. 

She  informed  us  that  Mr.  Randolph  used  to  visit  her 
house  frequently,  and  that  he  made  himself  highly  enter 
taining.  In  the  Summer  time  she  said  he  frequently  came 
riding  on  horseback,  dressed  in  white  pantaloons,  white  flan 
nel  coat,  white  vest,  and  white  paper  wrapped  round  his 
beaver  hat.  He  had  the  most  ghostlike  appearance  of  any 
thing  she  ever  beheld.  But  as  unprepossessing  as  was  his 
personal  appearance,  he  could  make  himself  perfectly  fas 
cinating  in  his  conversations,  even  upon  the  commonest 
subjects.  His  transcendent  genius,  his  wonderful  powers 
of  description,  his  splendid  imagination,  seemed  to  create  a 
new  interest  in  everything  he  touched.  His  pictures  of  the 
objects  constantly  before  her  possessed  a  magical  charm. 
She  sawr  beauties  which  she  never  saw  before — new  beauties 
of  form>  soft  notes,  which  had  escaped  her  ear ;  and  the 
garments  which  failed  to  attract  her  attention,  when  drawn 
by  him,  appeared  rich  and  gorgeous  as  those  of  the  bride 
decked  for  the  hymeneal  alter. 

Mrs.  Daniel  is  a  very  old  woman,  and  yet  Mr.  Randolph's 
description  of  the  mocking  bird  is  fresh  and  bright  in  her 
memory. 

The  following  incident,  related  also  by  Mrs.  Daniel,  shows 
that  the  heart  of  the  man  who  was  "nearly  devoid  of  pity," 
and  who  too  frequently  trampled  without  scruple  or  remorse 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  75 

upon  the  feelings  of  others,  was  softened  by  the  artless  at 
tentions  of  little  children. 

On  one  occasion,  says  Mrs.  Daniel,  while  he  was  on  a 
visit  to  her  house,  one  of  her  little  girls  went  into  the  garden 
and  selected  a  bouquet  of  beautiful  flowers,  and  presented 
them  to  him.  He  seemed  highly  gratified :  sa'id  "  she  had 
chosen  the  old  man  for  her  valentine." 

The  next  time  he  came  over  he  brought  the  sweet  little 
girl  some  delicious  fruit,  saying — "  Flowers  produce  fruit." 

Sometime  afterwards  a  member  of  the  family  visited  the 
solitary  home  of  the  recluse,  and  found  the  same  bunch  of 
flowers,  preserved  in  water,  sitting  upon  his  centre  table. 

We  pass  on  now  to  the  memoranda  furnished  us  by 
another  of  Mr.  Randolph's  old  acquaintances,  who  told  us 
of  the  visit  which  a  certain  young  gentleman  frequently 
made  to  Roanoke,  and  how  "  modest,  pining  merit"  was 
raised  from  despair,  and  a  clouded  eye  given  "a  golden 
hour." 

It  appeared  that  the  gentleman  alluded  to  was  a  young 
man  of  good  solid  sense,  but  had  no  pretentious  to  genius. 
He  had  commenced  the  study  of  one  of  the  learned  profes- 
.sions,  and  with  that  modesty,  which  is  of  itself  the  sign  of 
merit,  mistrusted  his  own  abilities. 

Mr.  Randolph  poured  the  oil  of  consolation  into  his 
drooping  breast,  by  assuring  him  that  he  had  nothing  to 
fear ;  that  all  he  had  to  do  was  to  persevere ;  that  he  had 
the  right  kind  of  talents  to  ensure  success.  He  said  that 
"genius  was  not  desirable;  that  it  rendered  the  possessor 
miserable,"  and  pointed  him  to  several  men  of  his  acquain 
tance,  who,  without  splendid  abilities,  had  solely  by  indus 
try  and  perseverance  succeeded  well  in  their  professions. 

The  young  student  invariably  returned  home  from  his 
visits  to  his  distinguished  counsellor  greatly  encouraged, 


76  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

and  in  due  time  the  best  hopes  of  himself  and  his  friends- 
were  realized. 

Mr.  Randolph  was  very  respectful  to  ladies  while  in  their 
presence,  though  sometimes  he  would  animadvert  with  sar 
castic  bitterness  on  their  foibles  in  his  public  speeches. 

A  young  gentleman  of  considerable  parts  once  met  with 
Mr.  Randolph  at  the  house  of  a  friend.  He  was  delighted 
at  his  good  fortune  in  having  an  opportunity  of  conversing 
on  political  subjects  with  the  famous  Virginian  orator  and 
statesman.  But  whenever  he  introduced  the  subject  of  poli 
tics,  Mr.  Randolph,  after  politely  answering  any  question 
propounded  to  him,  changed  the  conversation  to  something 
else. 

It  was  thought  that  he  did  it  out  of  respect  for  the  ladies 
who  were  present ;  that  he  considered  it  out  of  taste  to  dis 
cuss  such  matters  in  their  presence. 

Very  handsomely  done!     A  well  merited  rebuke! 

That  he  did  not  respect  as  a  lady  every  female  dressed  in 
petticoats  will  sufficiently  appear  from  the  following  anec 
dote.  The  scene  described  was  in  the  county  of  Charlotte, 
and  therefore  comes  appropriately  under  the  head  of  home 
reminiscences. 

But  we  must  first  acquaint  the  reader  with  the  fact,  if  he 
be  not  already  cognizant  of  it,  that  at  one  time,  in  the  city 
of  Washington,  resided  a  certain  mischievous  old  woman 
by  the  name  of  Royal.  She  edited,  to  the  infinite  vexation 
of  the  officials  in  the  city,  a  paper  called  "The  Paul  Pry," 
afterwards  "The  Huntress."  The  paper  was  sent  without 
solicitation  to  every  member  of  Congress,  and  perhaps  to 
other  high  officials  at  the  Capitol.  But  though  he  might 
not  have  requested  her  to  send  the  aforesaid  paper,  woe  to 
the  member  who  went  home  without  paying  the  subscription 
price.  He  was  first  threatened  with  secretary  "Sal;"  and 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  77 

if  he  still  refused  to  pay,  he  was  advertised  in  the  paper,  and 
the  number  containing  the  advertisement  was  sent  home  to 
the  neighbors  of  the  delinquent  debtor. 

One  evening  two  members  of  Congress  were  walking  arm 
in  arm  up  the  streets  of  Washington,  when  they  were  sud 
denly  confronted  by  the  redoubtable  Mrs.  Royal.  She 
began  immediately  addressing  herself  to  one  of  them :  "  Sir, 
I  understand  you  have  turned  true  blue  Presbyterian  and  a 
•clock  pedlar." 

She  had  no  sooner  said  this  than  the  other  member  beat 
a  precipitate  retreat,  leaving  his  companion  to  extricate  him 
self  as  best  he  could. 

The  reader  has  some  idea  now  of  what  sort  of  woman 
Mrs.  Royal  was,  and  he  has  doubtless  a  curiosity  to  know 
how  Mr.  Randolph  would  treat  such  a  person  if  he  should 
meet  her. 

He  was  driving  out  one  morning  in  his  coach  along  the 
public  road  near  his  house  when  he  met  the  stage  in  which 
Mr.  John  C.  Calhoun  happened  to  be  traveling  from  the 
South  on  his  way  to  Congress.  He  ordered  the  driver  to 
stop  that  he  might  speak  to  the  distinguished  traveler. 

The  two  great  statesmen  had  no  sooner  recognized  each 
other  than  Mrs.  Royal  put  her  head  out  of  the  window,  say 
ing,  at  the  top  of  her  voice,  "Good  morning,  Mr.  Ran 
dolph." 

She  had  scarce  uttered  the  salutation  ere  Mr.  Randolph 
clapped  his  fingers  to  his  nose,  and  making  a  sound,  which 
indicated  that  he  smelt  an  insufferable  stench,  told  the  driver 
to  drive  on,  and  thus  left  Mr.  Calhoun  to  reflect  upon  the 
eccentric  nature  of  the  man  of  Roanoke. 

The  scene  now  changes,  and  our  hero  appears  in  a  new 
role.  Again  we  select  from  the  MSS.  of  Mr.  Elliott,  who 
was  living  at  the  time  that  he  generously  donated  them  to 


78  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

us,  but  who  has  since  gone  to  that  wide  eternity,  where  all 
at  last  must  find  a  place.  William  H.  Elliott  was  a  genius, 
and  was  the  author  of  several  pieces  of  poetry  of  great 
merit — one,  the  "Cockiad,"  was  not  only  published  with 
flattering  notices  in  the  newspapers  of  this  country,  but  was 
copied  into  the  London  periodicals. 

But  to  return  to  our  subject.  In  his  "  Schoolboy  Remin 
iscences  of  John  Randolph,"  Mr.  Elliott  records  an  incident 
which  illustrates  a  peculiar  phase  in  his  character.  He  says : 

I  sometimes  on  Friday  evening  accompanied  my  school-fellow,  Tudor 
Randolph,  who  was  an  amiable  youth,  to  Roanoke,  to  hunt  and  fish  and 
swim. 

The  house  was  so  completely  and  closely  environed  by  trees  and  under 
wood  of  original  growth,  that  it  seemed  to  have  been  taken  by  the  top  and 
let  down  into  the  bosom  of  a  dense  virgin  forest.  Mr.  Randolph  would 
never  permit  even  a  switch  to  be  cut  anywhere  near  the  house.  Without 
being  aware  of  such  an  interdiction  I  one  day  committed  a  serious  tres 
pass.  Tudor  and  I  were  one  day  roving  in  the  woods  near  the  houser 
when  I  observed  a  neat  hickory  plant,  about  an  inch  thick,  which  I  felled. 
Tudor  expressed  his  regret  after  seeing  what  I  had  done,  saying  he  was 
afraid  his  uncle  would  be  angry.  I  went  immediately  to  Mr.  Randolph 
and  informed  him  of  what  I  had  ignorantly  done,  and  expressed  regret 
for  it.  He  took  the  stick,  looked  pensively  at  it  for  some  seconds,  as  if 
commiserating  its  fate.  Then  looking  at  me  more  in  sorrow  than  in  anger,, 
he  said :  "  Sir,  I  would  not  have  had  it  done  for  fifty  Spanish  milled  dol 
lars!"  I  had  seventy-five  cents  in  my  pocket,  at  that  time  called  four-and- 
sixpence,  and  had  some  idea  of  offering  it  to  the  owner  of  the  premises  as 
an  equivalent  for  the  damage  I  had  done,  but  when  I  heard  about  the  fifty 
Spanish  milled  dollars,  I  was  afraid  of  insulting  him  by  offering  the  meagre 
atonement  of  seventy-five  cents.  I  wished  very  much  to  get  away  from 
him,  but  thought  it  rude  to  withdraw  abruptly  without  knowing  whether 
he  was  done  with  me.  "  Did  you  want  this  for  a  cane?"  No,  sir.  "  No, 
you  are  not  old  enough  to  need  a  cane.  Did  you  want  it  for  any  particu 
lar  purpose?"  "No,  sir,  I  only  saw  it  was  a  pretty  stick,  and  thought  I'd 
cut  it."  "We  can  be  justified  in  taking  animal  life,  only  to  furnish  us. 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  79' 

food,  or  to  remove  some  hurtful  object  out  of  the  way.  We  cannot  be  jus 
tified  in  taking  even  vegetable  life  without  having  some  useful  object  in 
view."  He  then  quoted  the  following  lines  from  Cowper: 

"I  would  not  enter  on  my  list  of  friends, 
Tho'  graced  with  polished  manners  and  fine  sense, 
Yet  wanting  sensibility,  the  man, 
Who  needlessly  sets  foot  upon  a  worm." 

"  Now  God  Almighty  planted  this  thing,  and  you  have  killed  it  without 
any  adequate  object.  It  would  have  grown  to  a  large  nut-tree,  in  whose 
boughs  numerous  squirrels  would  have  gamboled  and  feasted  on  its  fruit. 
Those  squirrels  in  their  turn  might  have  furnished  food  for  some  .human 
beings."  Here  he  made  a  pause,  but  looked  as  if  he  had  something  more 
to  say,  yet  only  added,  "  I  hope  and  believe,  sir,  you  will  never  do  the 
like  again."  "  Never,  sir,  never!"  He  got  up  and  put  the  stick  in  a  cor 
ner,  and  I  made  my  escape  to  Tudor  in  an  adjacent  room,  where  he  had 
remained  an  invisible  but  sympathizing  auditor  of  this  protracted  rebuke. 
It  was  some  time  before  I  could  cut  a  switch  or  a  fishing  rod  without  feel 
ing  that  I  was  doing  some  sort  of  violence  to  the  economy  of  the  vege 
table  kingdom.  When  reflecting  on  this  passage  of  my  boyish  history,  I 
have  thought  that  Mr.  Randolph's  tenderness  for  vegetable  life,  as  evinced 
on  this  occasion,  was  strangely  contrasted  with  the  terrific  onslaughts  he 
sometimes  perpetrated  on  human  feelings.  But  Mr.  Randolph  was  not  a 
subject  for  ordinary  speculation.  He  would  sometimes  surprise  his  enemy 
by  unexpected  civility,  and  anon,  mortify  his  friend  by  undeserved  abrupt 
ness.  He  was  an  edition  of  Man,  of  which  there  was  but  one  copy,  and 
he  was  that  copy.  Sometimes  he  would  take  the  whole  world  in  the  arms 
of  his  affection.  When  in  a  different  mood,  he  seemed  ready  to  hurl  the 
offending  planet  into  the  furnace  of  the  sun. 

Mr.  Randolph  would  sometimes  unbend  himself  in  small  talk  with  lit 
tle  boys,  but  not  often.  On  one  occasion  C.  C.,  a  distant  relation  of  Mr. 
Randolph,  accompanied  Tudor  and  myself  on  a  visit  to  Roanoke.  At  the 
close  of  a  long  Summer's  day,  after  having  hunted  squirrels,  climbed  trees, 
swam  in  the  river,  and  played  marbles  to  satiety,  we  composed  ourselves 
to  rest,  all  in  the  same  apartment — we  three  boys  on  a  pallet  of  liberal 
dimensions,  spread  upon  the  floor,  Mr.  Randolph  on  a  bed  to  himself, 
where  stretched  out  at  full  length,  and  covered  by  a  single  sheet,  he  looked 


•80  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

like  a  pair  of  oyster  tongs.  He  had  a  book  and  a  candle  by  him  reading. 
At  length  he  dropped  the  book,  looked  up  at  the  ceiling,  and  commenced 
thus :  "  Boys!  why  may  not  the  earth  be  an  animal?"  Our  researches  into 
natural  history  did  not  enable  us  to  advance  any  striking  hypothesis  on 
such  a  subject.  All  continued  perfectly  silent.  Mr.  Randolph  no  doubt 
did  not  expect  any  ingenious  suggestion  in  support  of  his  theory,  but  asked 
the  question  merely  for  the  purpose  of  introducing  his  own  fanciful  strain 
of  remarks.  He  resumed  :  "  Now  the  ocean  may  be  regarded  as  the  heart 
or  great  receptacle  of  the  blood,  the  rivers  are  the  veins  and  arteries — 
the  rocks  are  the  bones."  Here  C.  C.  being  a  sprightly  youth,  whispered 
In  my  ear,  "there  is  not  much  marrow  in  them  bones."  This  sally  well 
nigh  cost  me  an  irreverent  chuckle — "  the  trees  are  the  hair  of  this  animal, 
and  men  and  other  vermin  inhabit  these  hairs.  If  we  dig  a  hole  in  the 
earth,  or  wound  it  in  any  way,  we  find  that  it  has  a  tendency  to  heal  up." 
Tudor,  who  was  a  corpulent  youth,  and  overcome  by  the  exercises  of  the 
day,  commenced  snoring.  Randolph's  quick  ear  caught  the  sound — he 
turned  his  head  in  our  direction — his  eyes  flashed  indignation  : — "Is  that 
beef-headed  fellow  asleep  already?"  but  as  he  received  no  further  re 
sponse  than  a  confirmatory  snort  from  the  same  quarter,  he  extinguished 
his  candle  with  an  impatient  jesture — wheeled  himself  over  towards  the 
wall,  and  seemed  to  seek  in  sleep  an  oblivion  of  his  disgust." 

There  was  a  soft  place  in  Mr.  Randolph's  heart.  There  is 
in  every  one's. 

He  was  telling  Mr.  Bouldin,  one  day,  that  he  and  his 
.brother  went  hunting,  when  they  were  boys,  and  found 
where  two  little  hares  had  been  hanged  by  the  neck.  Mr. 
Bouldin  said  he  saw  the  tears  suspended  in  the  eye  of  Mr. 
Randolph  as  he  related  to  him  this  act  of  wanton  cruelty. 

The  tenure  of  his  friendship  has  been  pronounced  "too 
frail  to  render  it  secure  or  ardent."  He  was  certainly  very 
changeable,  except  in  very  rare  instances.  This  is  the  case, 
however,  with  nearly  all  dyspeptics.  His  friendship  could 
stand  less  opposition  than  any  man's  we  ever  heard  of. 
Where  there  was  difference  of  opinion,  his  absolute  spirit 
-almost  invariably  severed  the  tie.  He  assumed  the  dicta- 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  81 

tor,  and  all  who  opposed  him  were  regarded  as  rebels  to  his 
authority.  He  had  but  few  friends  who  were  not  subser 
vient  to  him.  One  had  to  advance  his  interest  and  har 
monize  with  his  opinions,  or  else  be  deprived  of  his  favors. 

Mr.  Randolph's  friendship,  while  it  lasted,  was  indeed 
valuable.  The  late  Judge  Thomas  T.  Bouldin,  when  he  was 
a  young  man,  was  called  on  one  occasion  to  the  discharge 
of  his  professional  duties  in  a  strange  place,  where  he  was 
but  little  known.  Being  required  to  give  security  on  some 
kind  of  bond,  perhaps  as  trustee,  he  found  some  difficulty 
in  giving  the  required  security.  It  reached  the  ears  of  his 
distinguished  friend,  who  raised  his  shrill  voice  above  the 
noise  of  the  crowd,  saying  he  would  endorse  for  him. 
Judge  Bouldin  said  it  at  once  lifted  him  out  of  his  dilemma, 
and  placed  him  on  a  high  elevation.. 

It  is  true  that  in  after  life  his  friendship  was  estranged; 
but  at  the  death  of  Mr.  Randolph  all  was  forgotten,  except 
the  acts  of  kindness.  Gratitude  in  the  noble  breast  of  the 
recipient  of  such  timely  and  efficient  aid,  caused  him  at  that 
sad  hour  "to  cast  every  bitter  remembrance  away,"  and  to 
guard  and  protect  with  scrupulous  care  the  remains  of  his 
former  friend. 

While  on  a  visit  to  Dr.  Joel  W.  Watkins,  of  Charlotte,  we 
noticed  a  neat  little  frame  suspended  from  his  parlor  wall. 
It  contained  a  paper  in  the  hand-writing  of  John  Randolph, 
found  among  other  papers  after  his  death.  It  was  an  obitu 
ary  of  the  grandfather  of  the  gentleman  above  named,  and 
as  every  stroke  of  the  pen  of  Mr.  Randolph  is  eyed  by  the 
world  with  curiosity,  we  requested  a  copy  of  it,  which  was 
kindly  given.  Nowhere  had  we  ever  seen  what  sort  of 
obituary  he  could  write.  The  reader's  curiosity  shall  be 
gratified. 

"On  Sunday,  the  2d  of  January,  1820,  departed  this  life  at 


82  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

an  advanced  age,  beloved,  honored  and  lamented  by  all  who 
knew  him,  Colonel  JOEL  WATKINS,  of  the  county  of  Char 
lotte,  and  State  of  Virginia. 

"  Without  shining  abilities,  or  the  advantages  of  education, 
by  plain  and  straight  forward  industry,  under  the  guidance 
of  old-fashioned  honesty  and  practical  good  sense,  he  accu 
mulated  an  ample  fortune,  in  which  it  is  firmly  believed,  by 
all  who  knew  him,  there  was  not  one  dirty  shilling. 

"The  fruits  of  his  own  labors  he  distributed  with  a  promp 
titude  and  liberality  seldom  equalled,  never  surpassed,  in 
suitable  provision  to  his  children  at  their  entrance  into  life, 
and  on  every  deserving  object  of  private  benevolence  or 
public  spirit,  reserving  to  himself  the  means  of  a  generous 
but  unostentatious  hospitality. 

"Nor  was  he  liberal  of  his  money  only.  His  time,  his 
trouble,  were  never  withheld  on  the  bench,  or  in  his  neigh 
borhood,  where  they  could  be  usefully  employed. 

"  If,  as  we  are  assured,  the  peace-makers  are  blessed,  who 
shall  feel  stronger  assurances  of  bliss  than  must  have 
smoothed  this  old  man's  passage  to  the  unknown  world?" 

Gracefully,  beautifully  and  truthfully  done. 

Dr.  Johnson  once  said  of  Mr.  Campbell  that  he  "was  a 
good  man,  a  pious  man."  He  "was  afraid  he  had  not  been 
in  the  inside  of  a  church  for  many  years ;  but  never  passed 
by  a  church  without  pulling  off  his  hat;  this  showed  he  had 
good  principles." 

If  he  made  this  remark  of  Mr.  Campbell,  who  merely 
pulled  off  his  hat  as  he  passed  a  church,  what  would  the 
Doctor  have  said  of  Mr.  Randolph  who  stood  up  in  the  aisle 
at  Bethesda — once — the  whole  time  that  the  Rev.  Clement 
Read  was  preaching,  with  his  hat  off,  and  who,  when  he 
landed  in  London,  went  straightway  to  St.  Paul's,  and  was 
so  earnest  in  his  devotions  as  to  attract  universal  attention. 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  83 

He  once  rode  up  to  a  church  where  the  congregation  had 
gathered,  and  services  were  about  to  begin.  He  dismounted, 
tied  his  horse,  went  in,  and  selected  a  seat  near  the  pulpit, 
and  was  so  exceedingly  devout  and  solemn  in  his  appear 
ance,  that  the  minister  invited  him  to  take  a  seat  with  him  in 
the  pulpit,  which  he  politely  declined  to  do,  but  knelt  down, 
however,  during  prayers,  and  preserved  his  gravity  during 
the  whole  time.  When  the  services  were  concluded,  he 
mounted  his  horse  and  rode  off.  The  eyes  of  the  whole 
congregation  were  upon  him  from  first  to  last. 

Mr.  Randolph  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Rice  had  been  speaking 
at  Charlotte  Court-house  nearly  all  day.  A  clergyman  of 
the  Baptist  denomination  had  attentively  listened  to  them 
during  the  whole  time.  That  night  he  went  home  with  a 
brother  minister:  "Brother,"  said  he,  "did  you  hear  the 
speakers?"  "Yes."  "Well,  brother,  we  ought  to  study  our 
sermons  more." 

It  is-  not  improbable  that  they  preached  better  ever  after 
wards. 

If  Randolph  and  Henry  had  been  born  in  the  county  of 
Charlotte,  our  native  county,  we  should  have  been  proud  of 
the  honor.  As  it  is,  we  have  in  keeping  their  sacred  re 
mains.  But  it  was  in  the  possession  of  these  great  men, 
while  living  in  their  glorious  prime,  which  was  truly  valu 
able.  In  the  case  of  Mr.  Randolph,  this  priceless  intellec 
tual  jewel  was  possessed  by  the  people  of  Charlotte  for  up 
wards  of  twenty  years.  They  could  not  claim  Henry  so 
long,  but  still  he  remained  in  their  midst  a  sufficient  time  to 
sow  the  most  precious  seed. 

Who  knows  how  much  the  immortal  Henry  is  indebted 
for  his  eloquence  to  the  inspirations  of  some  divine  who 
stirred  from  its  deep  foundations  his  mighty  genius  ?  Who 
knows  but  that  the  first  and  most  powerful  stimulus  given 


84  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

to  the  genius  of  Randolph  was  received  when — a  youth — he 
stood  behind  the  judges'  seat  and  drank  with  rapturous  de 
light  the  words  of  Henry?  And  who  can  tell  in  the  breasts 
of  how  many  youths  the  generous  spirit  of  emulation  was 
roused  and  kept  alive  by  the  noble  example  of  Randolph 
constantly  before  their  eyes. 

The  advantage  to  be  derived  to  any  community  from  hav 
ing  among  them  for  so  long  a  time  a  man  of  such  great 
abilities  and  high  sense  of  honor  cannot  be  well  calculated. 
The  words  of  this  brilliant  orator  formed  an  important  part 
of  the  education  of  the  people  of  Charlotte.  Hundreds  of 
persons  might  say,  in  the  language  of  the  gifted  William 
H.  Elliott,  whose  pleasing  reminiscences  we  have  already 
quoted,  that  "they  could  not  recollect  the  time  when  the 
idea  of  John  Randolph  did  not  occupy  a  large  space  in  their 
minds;  that  his  high  position,  his  transcendent  genius,  his 
fascinating  manners  and  imposing  presence  all  conspired  to 
render  him  in  their  views  as  prominent  and  necessary  an 
object  in  our  human  world  as  the  sun  in  the  solar  system." 
And  more  than  one  can  say,  that  for  all  he  possesses,  which 
is  most  valuable  of  the  art  of  public  speaking,  he  is  indebted 
to  the  orator  of  Roanoke. 

Such  was  the  curiosity  which  was  attached  to  the  memory 
of  Mr.  Randolph,  that  every  slip  of  paper  in  any  way  rela 
ting  to  him  was  preserved  by  his  old  constituents  as  a  pre 
cious  memorial. 

The  following  letter  from  the  Rev.  Abner  W.  Clopton 
was  handed  to  us  by  the  Rev.  E.  W.  Roach,  who  found  it 
among  some  old  books  which  he  purchased  at  Mr.  Ran 
dolph's  sale. 

"CHARLOTTE   COURT-HOUSE,  August   23,  1832. 

"  DEAR  SIR: — If  it  should  meet  your  view  I  will  preach  the  funeral  of 
your  servant  Billy  at  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  second  Sabbath  in 


OF   JOHN   RANDOLPH.  85 

September.  Such  of  your  black  people  as  may  attend  the  meeting  at 
Mossingford  on  that  day  may  reach  your  house  by  that  time,  and  the  meet 
ing  will  be  closed  in  time  for  them  to  reach  their  homes  by  night. 

"As  I  was  satisfied  it  would  not  meet  your  convenience  to  have  the 
funeral  preached  on  any  day  but  the  Sabbath,  and  as  my  services  are 
already  pledged  for  every  Sabbath  forenoon,  I  perceived,  after  I  saw  you 
last,  that  from  previous  engagements  I  could  not  obey  your  call  at  an  ear 
lier  day. 

"  This  consideration,  together  with  my  necessary  absence  from  home, 
almost  every  day  since  I  saw  you,  may  serve  I  trust  as  an  apology  for  my 
silence  until  the  present  time. 

"  Be  good  enough  to  inform  me  by  Mr.  C.  whether  the  proposed  ar 
rangement  will  meet  your  wishes. 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  your  health  is  improving.  That  renewed  mer 
cies  may  excite  in  your  heart  a  more  lively  gratitude,  and  in  your  life  a 
more  devoted  service  to  the  Father  of  all  mercies,  is  the  desire  and  prayer 

of  your  friend. 

ABNER  W.  CLOPTON." 

This  Mr.  Clopton  was  a  minister  of  the  Baptist  church,  a 
man  of  fine  abilities,  great  integrity  and  piety,  and  a  friend 
of  Mr.  Randolph.  We  were  glad  to  be  put  in  possession  -of 
this  memento.  It  brought  to  mind  several  incidents  with  re 
gard  to  our  subject  which  might  otherwise  have  been  forgot 
ten.  Among  other  things,  it  reminded  us  of  how  Mr.  Ran- 
delph  used  to  deal  with  his  negroes  in  a  religious  point  of 
view. 

Mr.  Randolph  frequently  employed  ministers  of  the  gos 
pel  to  preach  to  his  negroes,  and  sometimes  when  the  ser 
mon  was  over,  he  would  make  remarks  himself. 

He  once  invited  the  Rev.  Mr.  Clopton  to  pray  for  him. 
Mr.  Clopton  began,  but  was  soon  arrested  in  his  petitions. 
"Stop,  sir,"  said  he,  "if  that  is  the  way  you  are  going  to 
pray,  you  must  go  into  the  garden  or  garret." 

On  another  occasion  he  said,  "  Stop,  sir,  if  you  pray  after 
that  manner  God  Almighty  will  damn  us  both." 


86  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

For  the  following  contribution,  bearing  upon  the  same 
subject,  we  are  indebted  to  the  Rev.  E.  W.  Roach,  of  Char 
lotte  county,  Virginia,  who  received  his  information  from  the 
Rev.  A.  W.  Clopton.  From  the  high  standing  of  the  wit 
nesses,  the  facts  stated  cannot  be  doubted. 

Mr.  Randolph,  from  the  dignity  of  the  Rev.  A.  W.  Clopton's  character, 
became  peculiarly  attached  to  him.  He  frequently  invited  him  to  his 
house  to  preach  to  his  negroes,  and  on  these  occasions  he  would  have 
them  collected  from  his  different  plantations,  to  the  number  of  several 
hundreds,  to  hear  him. 

On  one  occasion,  after  Mr.  Clopton  had  closed  his  discourse,  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  undertook  to  deliver  an  appendix. 

He  dwelt  on  the  gratitude  that  was  due  to  God  for  his  kindness,  and 
illustrated  by  his  own  kindness  to  his  servants.  He  spoke  of  the  ingrati 
tude  shown  to  the  Creator,  and  illustrated  by  their  ingratitude  to  him. 
"My  ancestors,"  said  he,  "have  raised  all  of  you,  save  one,  whom  t 
bought  from  a  hard  master  for  sympathy's  sake.  I  have  cherished  and 
nourished  you  like  children ;  I  have  fed  and  clothed  you  better  than  my 
neighbors  have  fed  and  clothed  their  servants.  I  have  allowed  you  more 
privileges  than  others  have  been  allowed-.  Consequently  any  good  heart 
would  have  shown  gratitude  even  to  me. 

But,  oh  !  the  ingratitude  of  the  depraved  hei\rt !  After  all  my  superior 
kindness,  when  I  was  in  my  feeble  health,  sent  a  minister  to  Russia,  you 
all  thought  I  would  not  live  to  return,  and  you  and  the  overseers  (damn 
you — God  forgive  me)  wasted  and  stole  all  you  could,  and  came  well  nigh 
ruining  me.  But  come  back,  and  I  will  forgive;  come  back  to  God,  and 
He  will  forgive.  My  negroes,  hear  what  the  clergyman  says  :  He  stop 
ped,  and  said,  "  Don't  think  I  mean  any  disrespect  by  calling  you  ne 
groes,  for  I  must  inform  you  that  negro  is  only  a  Spanish  word  for  black." 

When  the  services  closed,  he  took  the  clergyman  into  his  library,  a  room 
full  of  shelves  and  books  arranged  in  good  order.  Passing  on  to  a  cor 
ner,  he  called  for  two  chairs;  and  sat  down  to  relate  his  Christian  expe 
rience. 

In  that  comer  was  stored  a  fine  family  Bible,  with  a  number  of  works 
for  and  against  its  authenticity.  "  Mr.  Clopton,"  said  he,  "  I  was  raised 
by  a  pious  mother  (God  bless  her  memory),  who  taught  me  the  Christian 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  87 

religion  in  all  its  requirements.  But,  alas !  I  grew  up  an  infidel ;  if  not 
an  infidel  complete,  yet  a  decided  deist.  But  when  I  became  a  man,  in 
this  as  well  as  in  political  and  all  other  matters,  I  resolved  to  examine  for 
myself,  and  never  to  pin  my  faith  to  any  other  man's  sleeve.  So  I  bought 
that  Bible;  I  pored  over  it;  I  examined  it  carefully.  I  sought  and  pro 
cured  those  books  for  and  against;  and  when  my  labors  were  ended,  I 
came  to  this  irresistible  conclusion:  The  Bible  is  true.  It  would  have 
been  as  easy  for  a  mole  to  have  written  Sir  Isaac  Newton's  Treatise  on 
Optics,  as  for  uninspired  men  to  have  written  the  Bible." 

What  a  strange  compound  is  man !  and  the  strangest  of 
men  was  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke. 

That  is  striking  testimony  which  he  gives  in  favor  of  the 
Bible,  but  who  can  account  for  his  sudden  burst  of  passion 
in  the  midst  of  a  religious  exhortation  ? 

When  he  said,  "I  resolved  to  examine  for  myself,  and 
never  to  pin  my  faith  to  any  other  man's  sleeve,"  he  spoke 
the  truth.  There  never  lived  a  man  who  was  freer  from 
flunkyism,  or  of  more  personal  independence. 

If  a  jury  of  twelve  of  Mr.  Randolph's  old  constituents 
and  neighbors  were  summoned  to  sit  upon  his  conduct,  with 
a  prosecutor  sworn  to  do  the  accused  justice,  as  well  as  the 
commonwealth,  it  would  be  no  bad  method  of  getting  at  his 
true  character. 

In  drawing  the  outlines  of  a  picture  of  our  subject,  we 
were  obliged  to  rely  solely  upon  the  observations  of  others. 
Much  to  our  sorrow,  Mr.  Randolph  went  out  of  the  world  a 
little  while  after  we  came  into  it.  Much  to  our  sorrow  we 
say,  because  we  would  rather  have  laid  our  eyes  upon  him 
than  any  man  living  or  dead. 

This  being  the  case,  we  never  failed,  when  the  opportu 
nity  presented,  to  ask  one  of  his  old  countrymen  what  sort 
of  man  he^was.  And  though  his  character  was  said  to  be  so 
difficult,  we  always  received  a  prompt  and  decided  response. 


88  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

In  spite  of  all  that  has  been  stated  of  the  delicacy  of  the  taskr 
we  found  ourselves  thinking  that  they  really  understood  Mr. 
Randolph  better  than  they  understood  anybody  else. 

Not  that  there  were  no  secret  springs  which  they  could 
not  see  into;  but  his  main  points  were  so  prominent.  His 
eye,  his  voice,  his  demeanor  were  more  vividly  impressed 
upon  them  than  any  man's  they  had  ever  seen;  and  the  dis 
tinctive  traits  of  his  moral  and  intellectual  character  were 
equally  striking  and  prominent. 

These  pages  contain  opinions,  formed  not  only  from  read 
ing  his  written  life,  but  also  from  the  conversations  of  those 
who  were  well  acquainted  with  him.  Nor  are  they  our 
opinions  alone,  but  also  the  opinions,  for  the  most  part,  of 
the  witnesses,  whose  testimony  we  have  weighed  and  placed 
before  our  readers. 

But  we  do  not  expect  the  jury  to  take  our  word  for  them, 
for  we  have  endeavored  so  to  arrange  it  that  our  subject  may 
exhibit  himself,  that  he  may  be  seen  himself. 

Mr.  Randolph  was  very  much  diseased  in  body.  Many 
allowances  ought  to  be,  and  have  been,  made  for  him  on  that 
account ;  for  this  reason  we  were  anxious  to  have  a  physician 
empannelled.  We  knew  an  old  gentleman  who,  in  his  day, 
was  a  distinguished  physician,  who  was  also  a  neighbor  of 
Mr.  Randolph's. 

This  gentleman  informed  us  that  he  used  to  say,  "Mr. 
Randolph  was  like  the  toad,  who  had  a  pearl  in  his  head, 
but  poison  in  its  bowels."  But  he  afterwards  had  cause  to 
somewhat  modify  his  opinion. 

He  said  he  could  give  a  little  incident,  but  he  doubted 
whether  it  would  harmonize  with  what  we  had  written.  He 
was  aware  of  the  harsh  opinion  of  Mr.  Randolph,  which  had 
gone  to  the  world ;  asked  us  if  we  had  not  made  him  all  gall 
and  bitterness. 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  891 

We  told  him  we  had  drawn  him  quite  bitter,  but  not  more 
so  we  thought  than  he  deserved.  Still  we  were  anxious  to 
insert  anything  tending  to  mitigate  that  opinion.  He  said,, 
for  the  sake  of  truth,  it  would  be  gratifying  to  him  to  have 
an  interview,  which  he  had  with  our  distinguished  subject,, 
published  to  the  world.  He  thought  it  might  give  a  better 
opinion  of  his  power  of  forgiveness.  The  facts  might  be 
stated,  and  the  unprejudiced  reader  would  be  enabled  to 
draw  his  own  conclusion.  They  might  sustain  him  or  not  in 
his  view. 

Mr.  Robert  Carrington,  a  neighbor  and  personal  enemy  of 
Mr.  Randolph,  applied  to  the  county  court  of  Charlotte  for 
the  opening  of  a  road  through  the  plantation  of  the  latter. 
Viewers  were  appointed  to  decide  upon  the  expediency  of 
establishing  the  road ;  a  writ  of  ad  quod  damnum  awarded, 
and  a  jury  of  twelve  freeholders  of  the  vicinage  impanneled. 

When  the  said  jury  had  met  on  the  land  of  the  proprietor 
named  in  the  writ,  at  the  place  and  day  specified,  he,  the  pro 
prietor,  made  a  long  speech.  While  Mr.  Randolph  was 
speaking,  a  quantity  of  provisions  was  brought  by  his  ser 
vants  to  the  ground.  The  speaker  informed  the  jury  that  he 
had  it  prepared  for  them,  thinking  they  would  be  fatigued 
and  hungry  before  they  got  through. 

During  his  remarks,  he  took  occasion  to  abuse  the  C. 
family  very  much.  Mr.  C.  would  have  attempted  a  reply, 
but  for  the  advice  of  a  friend,  who  persuaded  him  he  could 
not  contend  with  his  antagonist  on  that  arena.  By  the  way, 
Mr.  C.  was  one  of  the  few  persons  who  was  not  afraid  of  Mr. 
Randolph. 

This  is  the  occasion  on  which  our  old  friend,  the  Doctor, 
was  present,  and  which  gave  rise  to  the  interview  to  which 
we  just  now  alluded. 

The  Doctor  was  invited  by  Mr.  C.  to  dinner,  but  declined. 


DO  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

He  told  him,  however,  that  if  his  house  was  much  further 
than  it  really  was,  he  would  go  cheerfully  with  him,  provided 
he  could  get  him  and  Mr.  Randolph  to  be  good  friends. 

Mr.  C.  replied,  if  the  difficulty  could  be  honorably  ad 
justed,  he  would  have  no  objection. 

The  conversation  occurred  in  the  presence  of  several  of 
Mr.  Randolph's  personal  friends. 

Some  time  after  that,  Mr.  Randolph  took  rooms  at  Mr. 
Wyatt  Cardwell's  hotel,  at  Charlotte  Court-house.  His 
stomach  wras  in  such  a  delicate  state,  at  that  period  of  his 
life,  that  he  could  not  digest  the  fare  he  met  with  abroad,, 
and  he  brought  snacks  with  him  from  home  generally,  when 
he  put  up  at  the  hotel  aforesaid. 

One  day  he  sent  his  servant  down  to  the  Doctor's  for 
some  of  his  sweet  potatoes;  said  he  preferred  the  small 
ones,  that  they  were  sweeter. 

The  Doctor  had  his  basket  filled  with  such  as  he  liked, 
but  on  the  top  placed  a  very  large  one.  Mr.  Randolph  was 
highly  delighted  with  the  big  potato ;  called  it  a  real  "  ne 
gro  potato." 

The  next  time  the  invalid  saw  the  Doctor,  which  was  at 
Charlotte  Court-house,  he  invited  him  to  his  room,  doubt 
less,  to  thank  him  for  his  nice  present. 

During  this  visit,  the  Doctor  took  occasion  to  say  to  his 
distinguished  host  that,  in  his  recent  speech,  he  had  given 
utterance  to  a  sentiment  which  he  admired  exceedingly. 

"And  what  is  that,  sir?" 

"  You  observed  that  the  forgiveness  of  an  enemy  was  the 
highest  attainment  of  moral  virtue." 

"  But  you  recollect  I  said  I  had  not  attained  it." 

"  Mr.  Randolph  from  that  went  on  to  remark  how  mag 
nanimous  it  was  to  forgive  an  enemy ;  giving  a  most  beauti 
ful  lecture,  equal  to  old  Dr.  Hoge  in  his  best  days." 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  91 

And  this  accords  with  the  testimony  of  a  truly  devout  old 
lady,  who  lived  within  a  few  miles  of  that  singular  man. 
She  avers  she  never  heard  such  a  beautiful  and  pathetic 
discourse  on  the  subject  of  religion  in  all  her  life  as  he  de 
livered  on  one  occasion  at  her  house.  The  impression  was 
made  upon  her  mind  that  he  must  be  a  Christian. 

But  to  return  to  our  narrative : 

The  Doctor  told  him  he  should  like  to  have  a  practical 
illustration  of  what  he  had  said. 

Was  he  willing  to  make  up  the  difficulty  between  himself 
and  Mr.  C? 

"With  all  my  soul,  sir,"  replied  he,  without  a  moment's 
reflection. 

His  expression  of  countenance,  and  the  promptness  with 
which  he  met  the  proposal,  induced  his  companion  to  be 
lieve  he  was  entirely  sincere. 

High  hopes  were  entertained  of  establishing  friendly  rela 
tions  between  them. 

A  flag  of  truce,  as  it  were,  had  been  agreed  upon  by  both 
belligerents. 

When  the  peacemaker  informed  a  friend  on  the  street  of 
what  he  had  done,  that  friend  was  greatly  astonished,  and 
would  not  believe  it.  Was  Mr.  Randolph  ever  known  to 
settle  a  difficulty  in  that  way?  he  inquired;  and,  like  the 
doubting  Thomas,  he  must  see  before  he  believed. 

But  the  difficulty  was  settled,  and  the  matter  taken  out  of 
court. 

We  have  thus  laid  before  the  inquisitive  reader  the  anec 
dote  of  our  old  particular  friend,  which  he  said  he  wanted  to 
go  in  in  mitigation  of  the  character  of  his  great  fellow-man. 
He  admitted  that  he  was  "full  of  subtlety"  (that  was  his  ex 
pression).  Nor  did  he  maintain  that  he  was  of  a  forgiving 


92  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

temper,  but  merely  thought  that  too  much  bitterness  had 
been  given  to  it. 

The  foregoing  incidents  were  related  to  us  by  Dr.  Isaac 
Read,  of  Charlotte  county,  Virginia,  who  lived  to  be  92 
years  of  age ;  but  his  testimony  was  taken  twelve  years  be 
fore  his  death. 

We  purpose  to  give  another  proof  that  Mr.  Randolph  was 
not  all  gall ;  but  this  time  we  shall  have  to  draw  upon  what 
has  already  been  published. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  of  his  to  his 
nephew,  Dr.  Theodorick  Dudley,  published  in  1 834,  selected 
from  a  mass  of  others  of  the  same  tone.  The  Mr.  Curd 
spoken  of  was  his  overseer. 

"R.OANOKE,  Sept.  22,  l8ll. 

"  Indeed,  my  attention  had  been,  in  some  measure,  distracted  by  the 
scene  of  distress  which  my  house  has  exhibited  for  some 'time  past.  Mr. 
Curd  breathed  his  last  on  Thursday  morning,  half  past  three  o'clock,  after 
a  most  severe  illness,  which  lasted  sixteen  days.  I  insisted  on  his  coming 
up  here,  where  he  had  every  possible  aid,  that  the  best  medical  aid,  and 
most  assiduous  nursing  could  afford  him.  During  the  last  week  of  his- 
sickness  I  was  never  absent  from  the  house  but  twice,  about  an  hour  each 
time,  for  air  and  exercise;  I  sat  up  with  him,  and  gave  him  almost  all  of 
his  medicines,  with  my  own  hand,  and  saw  that  every  possible  attention 
was  paid  to  him.  This  is  to  me  an  unspeakable  comfort,  and  it  pleased 
God  to  support  me  under  this  trying  scene,  by  granting  me  better  health 
than  I  had  experienced  for  seven  years.  On  Thursday  evening  I  fol 
lowed  him  to  the  grave;  and  soon  after,  the  effects  of  the  fatigue  and  dis 
tress  of  mind  that  I  had  suffered,  prostrated  my  strength  and  spirits,  and  I 
became  ill.  Three  successive  nights  of  watching  were  too  much  for  my 
system  to  endure ;  I  was  w  ith  him,  when  he  died  without  a  groan  or  a. 
change  of  feature." 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


Critical — Sarcastic — Revelations  of  his  Overseer — His  Manner  of  Dealing 
with  Overseers — Midnight  Ride — Whips  his  Cook — Testimony  of  Jo 
seph  M.  Daniel  in  the  Will  Case— "  Hot  Toddy"— "  Boiled  Pants"— 
The  Effect  of  Liquor  on  Him — Recollections  by  W.  B.  Green,  Dr.  I. 
B.  Rice  and  others. 

ABOUT  two  days  after  a  severe  spell  of  sickness,  Mr. 
Randolph  was  seen  driving  up  to  Watkins's  store. 
Everybody  was  daily  expecting  to  hear  of  his  death. 
Those  who  saw  him  could  hardly  believe  that  it  was  he ; 
but  it  was  indeed  the  "dying  man." 

Mr.  Randolph  drove  up  before  the  door,  and  observing 
the  gentleman  who  had  waited  upon  him  during  his  illness 
said :  "  You  hardly  expected  to  see  me  out  so  soon."  His 
friend  was  indeed  astonished  at  the  rapidity  with  which  he 
could  recover  from  a  spell  of  sickness. 

Mr.  Randolph  called  for  some  red  flannel.  The  young 
gentleman  who  acted  as  salesman  brought  out  the  article 
called  for.  Mr.  Randolph  inquired  how  much  there  was  in 
the  piece?  The  merchant  replied:  "I  cannot  tell  precisely 
without  measuring  it,  but  I  reckon  there  are  ten  yards." 

"Reckon!"  reiterated  the  critic.  "A  young  man  reckon 
ing  !  I  thought  it  was  women  who  kept  a  reckoning,  and 
that  only  at  particular  times !" 

Mr.  Randolph  once  put  up  at  one  of  those  "miserable 
inns  between  here  and  Washington,"  as  he  styled  them. 
As  soon  as  he  seated  himself  at  the  table,  he  turned  up  his 


94  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

nose  at  the  plate  before  him,  saying  it  was  "  nasty."  The 
lady  of  the  house  blushed  up,  and  replied  that  he  was  mis 
taken;  the  plates  were  clean.  She  took  it  off  the  table, 
however,  and  washed  it  with  her  own  hands.  Still  he  in 
sisted  that  it  was  "nasty."  The  hostess  tried  to  turn  it  oft 
in  a  joke,  by  remarking :  She  "  had  heard  it  said  that  we  all 
had  to  eat  our  peck  of  dirt  during  our  lives." 

"Yes,"  rejoined  Mr.  Randolph,  "but  I  don't  want  to  take 
all  of  mine  at  once." 

Mr.  Randolph  bought  a  plantation  of  Mr.  H.  Read,  and 
was  somewhat  behind  in  paying  for  it.  He  had  been  dunned 
for  it  repeatedly,  but  he  had  never  found  it  convenient  to 
pay.  On  one  occasion,  when  Mr.  Read  went  to  Roanoke  to 
collect  the  debt  if  possible,  he  was  met  by  the  distinguished 
debtor,  who  accosted  him  thus : 

"  Sir,  had  it  not  been  for  your  exceedingly  genteel  appear 
ance,  my  dogs  would  have  torn  you  to  pieces." 

Mr.  Randolph  bought  the  "  Bushy  Forest"  tract  of  land 
on  Roanoke  creek  of  Mr.  Howel  Read.  Mr.  Read  was 
very  reluctant  to  sell  it,  but  after  repeated  solicitations  he 
consented.  When  the  papers  were  all  signed,  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  turned  around  and  chided  him  for  selling  the  graves 
of  his  forefathers.  Mr.  Bedford,  who  was  present  at  the 
time,  regarded  it  as  a  most  unjustifiable  piece  of  ill-nature. 
The  tall  poplar  tree  was  pointed  out  to  us,  under  the  shade 
of  which  the  memorable  transaction  took  place. 

Upon  being  asked  the  direct  question  what  sort  of  man 
was  John  Randolph,  nine  out  of  ten  of  his  neighbors  would 
reply  at  once,  without  a  moment's  reflection,  that  he  was  the 
most  sarcastic  man  they  ever  knew.  We  do  not  remember 
to  have  conversed  with  a  single  individual,  learned  or  un 
learned,  friend  or  foe,  who  did  not  remark  upon  this  trait  of 
his  character. 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  95- 

Speaking  of  his  powers  of  ridicule  and  sarcasm,  a  gentle 
man  informed  us  that  Mr.  Randolph  was  once  inflicting 
upon  a  certain  individual  one  of  his  severest  and  most  un 
merited  chastisements,  when  a  man  in  the  crowd,  no  longer 
able  to  endure  the  scene  of  mental  agony,  exclaimed,  "  Stop,, 
stop,  Mr.  Randolph,  I  would  not  treat  a  dog  so." 

What  must  have  been  the  ill-nature  which  dictated  re 
marks  calling  forth  such  an  exclamation  under  such  cir 
cumstances?  It  would  not  have  been  more  cruel  to  have 
thrust  a  knife  into  the  flesh  of  his  victim. 

Mr.  Thomas  Cardwell,  a  great  admirer  of  talent,  once 
asked  the  Hon.  James  W.  Bouldin  to  tell  him  who,  in  his 
opinion,  was  the  greatest  man  that  the  county  of  Charlotte, 
had  raised. 

Mr.  Bouldin  replied:  "Mr.  Randolph  could  force  more 
down  the  throats  of  the  people  than  any  man  he  ever  knew, 
and  that,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Randolph,  the  Rev. 
Moses  Hoge  was  the  most  eloquent." 

Mr.  Randolph  would  drive  a  man  as  far  as  he  could  be 
driven ;  had  no  mercy  on  him.  In  fact,  he  took  a  pleasure 
in  seeing  how  many  humiliating  things  he  could  force  a  fel 
low  creature  to  do.  He  would  make  sport  of  him  in  his 
own  house,,  and  laugh  him  to  scorn  at  his  own  table.  He 
was  familiar  with  the  faults  of  everybody  in  reach  of  him, 
and  when  he  wanted  a  man  to  move,  he  knew  exactly  where 
to  apply  the  goad.  But  when  he  could  not  drive,  he  would 
not  insist  on  it.  His  knowledge  of  human  nature  enabled 
him  to  determine  who  was  a  proper  subject  to  be  operated 
on.  When  he  found  that  he  had  mounted  the  wrong  horse, 
he  frequently  got  right  off  and  complimented  him  for  his 
independent  spirit. 

He  once  sent  for  all  his  overseers.  We  have  this  from  Mr. 
William  P.  Harvey,  now  living  in  the  county  of  Pittsylvania> 


'96  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

Virginia,  one  of  the  few  overseers  who  was  not  afraid  of 
him.  It  so  happened  that  Messrs.  H.,  C.  and  G.  rode  up  at 
the  same  time.  John,  Mr.  Randolph's  body-servant,  met 
them  at  the  door,  and  requested  them  to  pull  off  their  shoes, 
saying  his  master  was  quite  sick,  and  could  not  bear  a  noise. 
John's  request  was  complied  with,  and  they  all  went  in  in 
their  stocking  feet.  Mr.  H.  states  that  he  found  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  sitting  up  in  bed,  far  from  being  in  the  condition 
represented. 

In  a  few  days  he  sent  for  all  his  overseers  again,  with  the 
injunction  that  they  should  come  as  soon  as  possible.  John 
was  at  the  door  as  before,  holding  in  his  hands  several  pairs 
of  stockings  for  the  overseers  to  slip  on  before  they  entered 
his  master's  chamber.  Mr.  G. pulled  off  his  shoes  as  before; 
but  Mr.  H.says  the  game  could  not  be  played  on  him  again. 
He  had  no  objection  to  taking  off  his  shoes  if  he  had  sup 
posed  there  was  a  necessity  for  it,  but  he  had  no  idea  of 
doing  it  when  he  believed  that  it  was  all  "  pretense  with  Mr. 
Randolph  about  being  so  sick." 

John  informed  him  that  his  orders  were  positive  not  to  let 
any  one  in  with  his  shoes  on.  Mr.  H.  told  him  "if  he  did 
not  stand  aside  he  would  knock  him  down." 

As  they  entered,  Mr.  Randolph  said:  "Good  morning, 
G. ;  I  can  afford  to  call  you  G. ;  but" — addressing  himself  to 
Mr.  H.,  "I  shall  have  to  call  you  Mr.  H. 

Mr.  H.  replied:  "It  mattered  not  with  him  what  he  called 
him." 

"  Shut  your  mouth,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Randolph. 

Mr.  H.  being  very  much  incensed  opened  wide  his  mouth 
right  in  Mr.  Randolph's  face.  They  then  had  some  bicker 
ing  words.  At  last  Mr.  Randolph  remarked:  "See,  now, 
you  have  gotten  mad  with  a  gouty  old  man."  He  then  in 
vited  them  to  take  a  drink.  Mr.  W.  C.,  who  was  sitting  on 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  97 

the  bed  with  the  sick  man,  conducted  them  into  the  next 
room.  After  they  had  gotten  there,  Mr.  C.  remarked:  "We 
have  to  swallow  some  hard  things  here."  Mr.  H.  replied: 
"Yes;  I  have  been  swallowing  chestnut  burs,  but  I  do  not 
intend  to  do  it  any  longer." 

Mr.  Harvey  says  he  witnessed  the  following: 

Mr. — ,  one  of  his  overseers,  was  leaning  his  chair 

back  against  the  wall  when  the  following  dialogue  ensued : 

"Were  you  ever  in  a  gentleman's  house?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  Leaning  your  d — n  greasy  head  against  the  wall  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  As  d — ned  a  fool  as  you  are,  the  wonder  is  how  you 
-ever"  ********* 

"Yes,  sir." 

And  that  was  all  he  could  get  out  of  him. 

A  highly  respectable  old  lady  in  Charlotte  told  us  the  fol 
lowing  : 

Shortly  after  Mr.  Randolph  had  in  a  spree,  as  she  sup 
posed,  killed  several  of  her  husband's  finest  hogs,  he  was 
visited  by  the  injured  party  for  the  purpose  of  finding  out 
the  cause.  He  nerved  himself  up  to  the  point  of  intimating 
that  if  his  neighbor's  dogs  did  not  stop  killing  his  hogs  he 
might  possibly  shoot  them. 

Mr.  Randolph  informed  him  that  if  he  killed  his  dogs  he 
would  shoot  the  best  cow  he  had  on  his  plantation.  After 
wards  he  threatened  to  shoot  his  best  horse,  and  finally  said : 
"  If  you  kill  my  dogs  I  will  kill  you." 

The  husband  being  a  quiet,  easy  sort  of  man,  did  not  re 
sent  it,  but  his  wife  was 

"  Gathering  her  brows  like  gathering  storm, 
Nursing  her  wrath  to  keep  it  warm." 

7 


98  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

She  determined  to  take  revenge  in  the  best  way  she  could. 
At  any  rate,  the  next  time  she  met  him  she  would  give  him 
to  understand  that  if  he  was  Mr.  Randolph  she  was  Mrs. 


As  good  luck  would  have  it,  she  one  day  overtook  him  in 
the  road.  He  was  riding  in  his  coach ;  she  in  a  buggy  with 
a  fleet  horse.  %As  he  was  going  along  at  a  slow  gait  she 
passed  him.  But  when  they  came  to  a  wide  space  in  the 
road  he  increased  his  speed  and  passed  her. 

Again  she  reined  up  her  spirited  steed,  and  putting  the 
lash  to  him  with  all  her  might,  distanced  him  a  second  time. 
As  she  drove  by,  Mr.  Randolph  gave  her  an  awful  look,  and 
she  returned  the  glance.  He  looked  at  her,  and  she  at  him. 
He  passed  her,  and  she  passed  him : 

"Then  the  fight  became  a  chase; 
She  won  the  day;  who  won  the  race?" 

When  they  came  to  the  fork  leading  to  her  house  she  was 
ahead,  and  turning  exultingly  round  in  her  buggy  she  bid 
him  "Good  bye." 

In  a  few  days  afterwards  Mr.  Randolph  sent  for  her  hus 
band,  and  asked  him  the  value  of  his  hogs.  Upon  being 
informed,  he  gave  him  an  order  on  Mr.  C.  for  the  amount 
specified. 

Mr.  Robert  Carrington  and  Mr.  Randolph  were  at  va 
riance.  In  fact  they  were  mortal  enemies.  It  appears  that 
the  latter  had  to  pass  through  the  plantation  of  the  former 
to  get  to  his  lower  quarter.  Mr.  Carrington  determined  he 
would  put  a  stop  to  all  passing  on  the  part  of  all  persons 
from  the  premises  of  his  hostile  neighbor,  so  he  posted  a 
servant  at  his  gate,  with  a  loaded  gun  in  hand,  with  the 
necessary  orders.  Pretty  soon  Mr.  P.,  an  overseer  of  Mr. 
Randolph's,  came  by.  The  sentinel  halted  him,  telling  him 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  99 

the  nature  of  the  instructions  he  had  received,  at  the  same 
time  requesting  that  he  would  see  his  master  before  "he 
passed  through.  Mr.  P.  went  to  Mr.  Carrington,  who  in 
formed  him  that  he  might  go  anywhere  he  pleased  on  his 
plantation.  Some  time  afterwards  Mr.  Randolph  drew  an 
instrument  of  writing  condemning  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Car 
rington,  and  requested  his  overseer  to  endorse  it.  His  over 
seer  promptly  refused,  saying  Mr.  Carrington  had  always 
treated  him  in  a  very  gentlemanly  manner,  and  that  he  had 
nothing  to  say  against  him.  Mr.  Randolph  thereupon  in 
formed  him  that  he  had  no  further  use  for  him.  "And  I 
have  none  for  you,"  replied  his  overseer,  and  left  him. 

Mr.  Randolph  insisting  that  he  had  the  right  to  go  from 
one  of  his  plantations  to  another  through  Mr.  Robert  Car- 
rington's,  the  latter  addressed  him  a  short  note,  prohibiting 
him,  and  informing  him  plainly  that  if  he  attempted  it  he 
would  shoot  him.  Knowing  of  what  stuff  Mr.  Carrington 
was  made,  Mr.  Randolph  did  not  venture.  Mr.  Carrington 
told  Judge  F.  N.  Watkins,  of  Prince  Edward,  that  in  reply 
to  his  curt  note,  Mr.  Randolph  wrote  him  four  pages  of 
foolscap,  which  Mr.  Carrington  said  was  as  brilliant  as  any 
thing  Mr.  Randolph  ever  wrote,  and  in  which,  in  his  way, 
he  said  a  great  many  things  of  severity. 

When  Mr.  Carrington  afterwards  became  a  candidate  for 
the  house  of  delegates,  although  all  personal  intercourse  be 
tween  the  parties  had  ceased,  Mr.  Randolph  was  one  of  the 
first  to  record  his  vote  (then  viva  voce)  for  Mr.  Carrington, 
with  some  very  complimentary  remark. 

Mr.  W.  P.  Harvey  states  that  he  was  present  on  one  occa 
sion  when  Mr.  P.,  one  of  his  overseers,  came  after  being  sent 
for  several  times  to  get  his  wages  for  the  previous  year.  Mr. 
Randolph  was  then  living  up  stairs.  Mr.  Hundley  was  also 
present. 


100  HOME     REMINISCENCES 

" Harvey,"  said  Mr.  Randolph,  "go  and  invite  him  up." 

Mr.  Harvey  went,  and  reported  that  P.  had  to  go  out. 

" Has  he  the  b— y  ache?" 

This  created  quite  a  laugh.  Mr.  Harvey  invited  him  as 
many  as  three  times  before  he  could  be  induced  to  go  up 
stairs.  Mr.  Randolph  received  him  in  a  very  friendly  man 
ner. 

"Mr.  P.,"  he  inquired,  "  why  have  you  not  been  after  your 
money?" 

"  I  could  not  come  sooner,"  replied  Mr.  P. 

"Well,  sir,  I  shan't  pay  interest  on  it,  as  I' was  not  able  to 
go  to  you,  and  you  would  not  come  to  me.  There  is  the 
money.  Count  it  out  to  him,  Harvey." 

Mr.  Harvey  counted  it. 

"Is  it  right?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  Count  it  over  again." 

"  Right,  sir." 

"Mr.  Hundley  will  you  count  it?" 

Mr.  H.  (not  Harvey,  but  the  other  gentleman  present) 
counted  the  money,  and  detected  a  five-franc  piece  among 
the  silver. 

"That's  right  now,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Randolph,  "sign  this  re 
ceipt  without  interest,  else  it  will  be  said  of  me  that  I  am  not 
an  honest  man  in  not  paying  interest,  when  it  was  your 
fault." 

Mr.  P.  stated  that  he  preferred  not  to  sign  it.  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  then  requested  Mr.  Harvey  to  talk  to  him;  but  Mr.  P. 
still  declined  to  sign  the  receipt.  Mr.  R.  requested  the  other 
gentleman  present  to  talk  to  him.  Mr.  P.  holding  to  his  re 
solve,  Mr.  Randolph  said  to  him:  "You  are  the  d st  fool 

I  ever  saw.  You  are  as  d ed  a  fool  as  my  Bull,"  a  negro 

whose  name  he  had  changed  to  Bull. 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  101 

Mr.  Harvey  says  he  never  saw  a  man  sign  his  name  as 
quickly  before.  Mr.  Randolph  was  in  bed  propped  up.  He 
sent  both  hands  under  the  sheets,  and  P.  thought  he  was 
after  his  "  bull  dogs,"  as  he  called  them — meaning  his  pis 
tols.* 

Mr.  Harvey  states  that  while  Mr.  Randolph  was  kind  to  his 
servants,  he  was  the  strictest  master  he  ever  knew.'  He  said 
disobedience  to  orders  was  the  greatest  crime  a  negro  could 
commit.  Mr.  Harvey  states  that  he  has  heard  Mr.  Randolph 
say  to  his  negroes  if  their  overseer  told  them  to  set  fire  to 
the  granary,  corn  house,  stables  or  barns,  if  they  did  not  do 
it  he  would  kill  them. 

Mr.  Harvey  says:  He  was  at  his  house  when  one  of  his 
slaves  ran  from  his  overseer  at  Lower  Quarter,  and  came  to 
Mr.  Randolph,  complaining  that  his  overseer  was  going  to 
kill  him,  and  he  wanted  to  see  master  before  he  did. 

As  soon  as  he  said  that,  Mr.  Randolph  told  Mr.  Harvey 
to  take  him  out  and  kill  him.  "D — n  him,  kill  him.'  I  have 
plenty  negroes  to  kill  one  every  other  day." 

Mr.  Harvey  took  the  "run-a-way"  and  gave  him  a  thrash 
ing.  When  he  brought  him  back,  Mr.  Randolph  remarked : 
"  I  told  you  to  kill  him," 

"  Stand  there,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Randolph  to  the  negro,  while 
he  wrote  a  note  to  the  overseer. 

"Take  that,  sir;  give  it  to  your  overseer. 

Mr.  Harvey  states  that  he  never  had  one  to  come  to  him 
after  that.  He  remarks  that  "this  harsh  chat  and  strict 
orders  were  to  save  him  from  annoyance.  Had  it  not  been 
for  that,  his  negroes  would  have  been  running  from  over 
seers  to  '  master'  all  the  time." 

*  Mr.  Randolph's  conduct  on  this  occasion  was  adduced,  on  the  trial  of 
his  will  ease,  as  evidence  of  his  derangement;  but,  to  our  mind,  it  seems 
in  perfect  keeping  with  his  character. 


102  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

Mr.  Harvey  states  that  when  he  was  overseer  for  him,  Mr. 
Randolph  had  four  hundred  and  nine  slaves. 

He  says  he  has  frequently  heard  Mr.  Randolph  speak  of 
an  overseer  he  once  had  by  the  name  of  Cumbey.  He  said : 
"Cumbey  could  do  anything."  They  were  riding  in  the 
plantation  one  day  together  when  they  came  to  a  framed 
house,  Mr.  R.  remarked:  "He  wished  he  had  it  for  a  store 
house."  He  said  in  two  days  afterwards  it  walked  up  into 
his  yard — everything  complete,  except  the  chimneys. 

Mr.  Harvey  mentions  another  of  Cumbey's  performances. 

Mr.  Randolph,  he  says,  showed  him  a  barn  forty  by  twenty 
feet;  stated  that  that  was  the  "turn-round  barn."  Cumbey 
had  it  built  in  his  absence.  He  told  him  it  was  in  the  right 
place,  but  that  it  was  set  wrong ;  it  ought  to  have  been  north 
and  south.  The  next  day  he  said  he  rode  by  and  it  was  all 
right.  He  therefore  named  it  the  "turn-round  barn." 

Mr.  Harvey  says  Mr.  Randolph  once  had  horses  saddled 
at  dead  of  night,  to  ride  to  a  certain  point  in  the  plantation. 
As  they  (Mr.  Harvey  and  Mr.  Randolph)  rode  along,  Mr. 
Randolph's  horse  became  dreadfully  frightened  at  a  bush. 
Mr.  Randolph  stuck  the  spurs  deep  in  his  side,  and  the  horse 
plunged  and  reared  at  such  a  rate  that  Mr.  Harvey  became 
alarmed  for  the  safety  of  the  rider,  and  so  expressed  him 
self.  Mr.  Randolph  remarked :  "  It  was  as  easy  to  throw  a 
new  girth  from  a  saddle  as  to  throw  him."  He  did  not  de 
sist  until  he  made  his  horse  go  up  to  the  bush.  When  they 
had  arrived  at  a  certain  place,  Mr.  ^Randolph  observed :: — 
"  There  is  the  place  I  want  you  to  begin  the  ditch." 

Mr.  Harvey  says  Mr.  Randolph  drank  very  hard,  and 
took  great  pains  to  conceal  it.  Johnny  would  sooner  put 
his  head  in  the  fire  than  invite  a  gentleman  into  his  master's 
room  while  he  was  drinking.  He  always  carried  liquor  in 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  103 

his  carriage  pockets ;  kept  a  great  variety  in  his  cellar ;  and, 
what  is  curious,  he  always  stopped  the  key-hole. 

On  one  occasion,  Mr.  Randolph  asked  Mr.  Harvey  what 
he  would  have  to  drink;  said,  "he  had  everything." 

Mr.  Harvey  says  he  thought  he  would  call  for  something 
out  of  season,  that  he  might  baulk  him ;  so  he  asked  for 
cider.  To  his  suprise,  Johnny  was  ordered  to  go  into  the 
cellar  and  bring  up  cider,  which  was  very  fine. 

When  intoxicated,  Mr.  Harvey  says,  he  was  profane  and 
obscene.  He  kept  at  least  six  candles  burning  all  night 
long.  The  excuse  he  made  was,  that  if  he  dreamed  any 
thing  he  could  take  his  lap  desk  and  write  it  down,  and  then 
he  would  never  forget  it. 

He  once  directed  Mr.  Harvey  to  give  Queen  Betty,  his 
cook,  a  whipping,  complaining  that,  instead  of  making  him 
a  plum  pudding  she  made  him  a  pudding  with  a  plum  in  it. 
After  she  had  been  chastised,  he  said,  "she  always  made 
them  right,  and  greatly  improved  in  her  soup." 

When  entirely  sober  he  always  called  old  Essex  "father." 
One  day,  the  old  servant  came  into  his  master's  room,  where 
there  were  several  gentlemen  present,  in  his  every-day 
clothes.  Mr.  Randolph  remarked:  "Essex,  if  your  friends 
came  to  see  you,  I  would  put  myself  in  a  condition  to  see 
them."  Pretty  soon  afterwards  Essex  came  back,  the  finest 
dressed  man  almost  that  Mr.  Harvey  had  ever  seen. 

Mr.  Randolph's  orders  to  his  negroes  were  to  take  off 
their  hats  whenever  they  spoke  to  a  white  man.  He  him 
self  spoke  to  each  of  his  negroes  as  he  came  to  them  in  the 
field.  He  always  spoke  to  his  overseers  with  his  hat  off. 

Mr.  Randolph  once  got  one  of  his  overseers  to  do  some 
writing  for  him.  When  the  letter  came  to  be  backed,  the 
overseer  wrote  "  Va."  Mr.  Randolph  repeated,  " '  Va.?  d — n 


104  HOME     REMINISCENCES 

your  f  Va.] "  and  tore  the  letter  to  pieces  and  threw  them 
against  the  wall.  He  wanted  it  written  "  Virginia"  in  full. 

The  above  closes  our  memoranda  from  Mr.  Harvey.  We 
are  glad  that  we  had  an  opportunity  of  interviewing  him, 
which  was  done  about  ten  years  ago,  and  the  result  carefully 
written  out  and  filed  away  among  the  other  interesting- 
papers  which  we  were  keeping  until  the  time  should  arrive 
when  we  had  leisure  to  arrange  our  Randolphiana  for  a 
book.  We  say  we  are  glad  we  took  notes  from  him,  because 
we  feel  that  we  must  draw  Mr.  Randolph  as  he  really  was. 

We  now  turn  to  the  reminiscences  of  Dr.  R.  B.,  whose 
high  standing  entitles  him  to  the  highest  credit. 

He  states  that  in  the  latter  part  of  Mr.  Randolph's  life  he 
sent  for  him  in  great  haste.  It  was  known  all  over  the 
neighborhood  that  he  was  sick  abed.  Dr.  B.  went  promptly 
to  see  what  Mr.  Randolph  wanted  with  him.  Upon  enter 
ing  the  room,  he  found  him  lying  on  a  bed  which  was  liter 
ally  covered  with  books  and  papers.  The  moment  he  made 
his  appearance,  Mr.  Randolph  pointed  to  a  box,  and  requested 
him  to  hand  him  a  certain  paper,  describing  it.  After  an 
hour's  search,  the  paper  was  found  and  handed  to  him.  Mr. 
Randolph  took  it  and  bid  him  good  morning ;  and  that,  be 
fore  his  guest  showed  any  indications  of  his  intention  to 
leave.  Dr.  B.  had  scarcely  gotten  off  his  horse  at  home, 
before  the  same  messenger  who  went  for  him  the  first  time 
rode  up  and  said  that  his  master  desired  him  to  return  im 
mediately.  On  his  entering  the  room,  Mr.  Randolph  re 
quested  him  to  look  in  a  certain  box  for  another  paper, 
which,  he  stated,  it  contained.  The  paper  was  found  and 
placed  in  his  hand.  He  looked  at  it  for  a  few  moments,  and 
handed  it  back  to  his  friend,  with  the  request  that  he  would 
put  it  back  in  the  box  and  "seal  it  with  the  sign  of  the 
cross."  This  latter  injunction  was  somewhat  embarrassing 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  105 

to  the  doctor;  but  he  placed  the  paper  away  and  made  the 
sign  of  the  cross  with  his  finger,  which  seemed  to  satisfy  the 
mysterious  patient.  So  soon  as  this  was  was  done,  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  again  bid  adieu  to  his  visitor  in  the  same  unceremoni 
ous  style. 

The  Hon.  James  W.  Bouldin  prefaces  his  Randolphiana, 
the  manuscript  of  which  is  now  before  us,  with  the  following 
remark : 

"  In  order  to  make  many  of  the  following  facts  intelligible^ 
consistent,  or  even  credible,  it  will  be  necessary  to  mention 
two  facts  in  relation  to  Mr.  Randolph,  which,  if  they  were 
generally  known,  have  not  been  generally  borne  in  mind  by 
those  who  have  spoken  of  him,  his  character  and  peculiari 
ties." 

We  will  not  in  this  chapter  quote  the  first  of  the  facts  men 
tioned  by  Mr.  Bouldin,  but  the  second.  He  says : 

From  the  first  time  I  ever  saw  Mr.  Randolph,  to  the  last — say  from 
about  1808  or  '9  till  his  death,  he  drank  very  hard — great  quantities  of  all 
kinds  of  intoxicating  drink.  He  generally  drank  the  best,  whether  wine 
or  distilled  spirits ;  but  he  would  drink  bad  if  he  could  not  get  good. 

This  had  various  and  very  singular  effects  on  him.  Sometimes  he  be 
came  drunk  in  the  ordinary  way — lost  the  use  of  his  limbs,  including  his 
tongue,  and  his  mental  faculties  became  almost  entirely  obscured.  This, 
however,  I  presume  was  seldom,  as  I  do  not  recollect  of  having  seen  it 
happen  more  than  two  or  three  times  in  all  my  acquaintance  with  him. 
Generally  the  more  he  drank  the  stronger  and  the  more  brilliant  he  be 
came,  until  after  weeks  sometimes  he  would  become  suddenly  prostrate 
and  sink,  and  so  after  a  time  he  would  recover. 

Although  he  drank  much  in  public,  he  drank  still  more  in  private,, 
and  although  this  fact  was  known  to  so  many,  yet  it  is  a  matter  of  great 
surprise  to  nine-tenths  of  persons  to  be  told  that  he  drank  to  excess.  He 
scarcely  ever  drank  with  the  illiterate  or  vulgar  at  all,  even  during  the 
highest  electioneering  times.  I  scarcely  ever  saw  him  drinking  with  gen 
tlemen,  but  he  drank  more  than  any  of  them.  Still  he  had  the  power  of 
fascination  and  charm  to  such  an  extent  on  most  men,  that  though  he 


106  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

drank  much,  they  thought  it  had  no  effect  upon  him.  One  of  the  most 
talented  men  I  ever  knew,  General  J.,  told  me  he  knew  that  when  he 
boarded  with  Mr.  Randolph,  at  Crawford's,  he  drank  more  brandy  (fifth 
proof  French  brandy)  than  any  man  he  ever  saw. 

If  any  one  doubts  that  the  brilliant  intellect  of  the  great 
statesman  and  orator  was  sometimes  maddened  by  strong 
potations,  let  him  read  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Joseph  M.  Da 
niel,  one  of  the  witnesses  (and  a  more  truthful  witness  never 
testified  in  any  cause)  at  the  trial  of  his  celebrated  will  case 
at  Petersburg.  A  manuscript  *  report  of  Mr.  Daniel's  testi 
mony  was  kindly  donated  to  us  by  his  venerable  wife,  who 
still  survives  him.  From  this  manuscript  we  extract  as  fol 
lows: 

I  saw  Mr.  Randolph  at  Charlotte  Court-house,  November  court  1831, 
but  observing  that  he  received  many  of  his  old  friends  with  more  indif 
ference  than  usual,  I  did  not  approach  him. 

A  few  days  afterwards  some  fox-hunters  ran  their  dogs  through  his 
yard,  and  when  they  reached  my  plantation  I  joined  the  chase.  During 
the  chase  Mr.  Randolph  sent  for  me,  and  when  I  reached  his  house,  the 
first  thing  he  said  to  me  was:  "  I  am  sorry  you  have  turned  fox-hunter." 
He  inquired  after  the  health  of  my  family,  but  was  less  particular  in  his 
inquiries  than  usual  about  them,  and  less  cordial  in  his  reception  of  me. 
He  inquired  if  I  would  accept  the  office  of  postmaster  at  Tucker's,  a  new 
office  he  wished  to  establish  near  him.  I  told  him  it  would  be  incon 
venient  to  me,  and  was  going  on  to  assign  my  reason  for  not  accepting, 
but  he  stopped  me,  and  in  a  rather  crabbed  manner  said,  "that  is  suffi 
cient."  He  then  turned  off  and  addressed  himself  to  Mr.  L.,  who  was 
also  then  talking  to  him  about  his  horses. 

During  the  same  month  I  received  a  note  from  him,  one  night  about 
dark,  urging  me  to  come  to  his  house  on  some  matters  of  business.  I  ac 
cordingly  went.  He  met  me  at  the  door,  and  received  me  more  cordially, 
and  apologized  for  sending  for  me  in  the  night.  The  business  related  to 

an  overseer  of  his,  named ,  whom  he  had  that  day  discharged  from 

his  employment. 

He  said  that  the  overseer  had  destroyed  more  than  he  had  made.     He 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  107 

suspected,  he  said,  and  verily  believed,  that  the  overseer  had,  at  that  time, 
in  his  wagon,  a  quantity  of  wool,  leather,  and  some  other  articles  I  do  not 
remember,  and  demanded  of  me  a  search  warrant  to  enable  him  to  search 
the  wagon.  He  took  the  necessary  oath  and  I  issued  the  warrant. 

In  a  few  days  after,  he  returned  from  Prince  Edward  court,  the  same 
month.  He  again  sent  for  me.  appeared  in  the  afternoon,  ac 
cording  to  his  promise  to  the  constable,  to  answer  the  charge  of  stealing 
the  wool  and  leather.  After  sitting  with  Mr.  Randolph  a  short  time,  he 

proposed  that  we  should  go  and  try .  As  soon  as  he  came  in  sight 

of he  appeared  to  get  very  mad ;  made  a  great  many  charges 

against  him,  and  said  he  would  swear  to  them.  By  way  of  getting  rid  of 
him,  I  told  him  he  had  already  been  sworn.  I  then  asked  him  if  he  had 
no  other  evidence  of  his  guilt.  He  said,  "yes."  Mr.  P.  (his  overseer) 
and  Mr.  T.  (the  constable)  would  be  ample  witnesses  of  guilt;  for  they 
had  found  some  of  the  leather  in  his  chest. 

From  the  evidence  of  P.  and  T.  (I  did  not  examine  Mr.  Randolph)  I 
thought  the  case  ought  to  be  enquired  into,  and  committed  him  to  jail,  he 
being  unable  to  find  security  for  his  appearance. 

The  evening  Mr.  Randolph  obtained  the  search  warrant  he  complained 
of  his  negroes  also.  He  said  he  had  no  doubt  there  was  a  combination 

between and  several  of  his  negroes  that  he  named,  in  relation  to 

taking  and  carrying  off  the  wool.  "  He  had,"  he  said,  "the  tanner's  re 
ceipt  for  twenty-eight  hides,"  I  think,  and  the  overseer  had  only  accounted 
for  a  small  proportion  of  them — I  think  about  half. 

The  next  time  I  saw  him  was  a  month  or  two  afterwards.  He  com 
plained  that  a  great  many  lies  had  been  told  about  his  conduct  in  Saint 
Petersburg  and  of  his  appearance  before  the  Emperor  of  Russia;  showed 
all  his  clothes,  and,  using  a  quotation  from  Shakspeare,  said,  "they  were 
rich  but  not  gaudy."  He  then  took  up  a  volume  of  Shakspeare,  and  said 
he  would  read  me  the  whole  story.  He  commenced  reading;  but  before 
he  finished,  Mr.  W.  M.  W.  came  in.  I  went  off  shortly  afterwards. 

I  saw  him  again  about  the  last  of  February,  or  the  first  of  March,  1832. 
I  found  him  in  the  garret  room,  in  bed.  He  complained  that  I  had  not 
visited  him;  said  that  that  was  black  Monday  with  him;  that,  during  his 
absence  in  Europe,  his  negroes  had  all  turned  rogues — those  on  the  hill 
worse  than  any.  When  he  left  he  thought  they  were  as  honest  and  cor 
rect  negroes  as  any  he  knew.  Indeed,  he  said  there  were  but  few  men 
he  would  sooner  rely  on  or  believe  than  Daddy  Essex  and  some  others 


108  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

whose  names  I  do  not  remember.  But,  he  said,  old  Essex  had  taken  to 
hard  drink,  and  had  been  drinking  some  time  before  he  found  it  out;  that 
the  habit  was  so  confirmed  and  the  propensity  was  so  strong  it  had  caused 
the  old  man  to  resort  to  dishonest  means  to  procure  it. 

He  had  made  a  will,  he  said,  before  he  went  to  Russia,  leaving  his  ne 
groes,  particularly  those  on  the  hill,  as  free  as  the  laws  of  his  country 
would  permit;  that  he  had  left  his  brother  Harry  their  nominal  master, 
and  had  made  ample  provision  for  their  suppport.  But,  he  said,  since  his 
return,  and  since  he  found  how  badly  they  behaved  in  his  absence,  he  had 
changed  his  mind,  and  none  of  them  should  be  sold  within  five  hundred 
miles  of  that  place. 

While  I  was  there,  he  had  Queen  in  the  room,  searching  for  money 
which,  he  said,  had  been  stolen  from  him  some  few  weeks  before.  She 
searched  all  over  the  room,  and  said  she  could  not  find  it.  He  was  in  a 
great  passion  with  her;  abused  her  very  much,  and  asked  her  if  she  had 
examined  under  the  head  of  the  bed.  She  then  examined  under  the 
head  of  the  bed,  and  pulled  out  a  pair  of  blue  broadcloth  pantaloons, 
very  much  rumpled,  and  on  examining  them  found  the  money  in  the 
watch  pocket,  as  she  said,  and  as  I  believe. 

Mr.  Randolph's  rage  seemed  to  be  more  violent,  if  possible,  than  be 
fore.  He  said  he  would  convince  me  or  any  other  person  that  she  had 
put  the  money  in  the  pocket  herself;  and,  raising  himself  up  in  the  bed, 
with  the  pantaloons  in  his  hand,  he  handed  them  to  me,  and  said :  He 
would  swear  they  had  been  boiled  and  well  washed,  and  if  the  money  had 
been  there  it  would  have  been  defaced  or  destroyed.  At  the  same  time 
he  handed  me  the  money  to  show  it  was  uninjured.  The  money  was  not 
injured,  nor  did  I  think  that  the  pantaloons  had  been  washed. 

I  saw  him  again  about  the  middle  of  March  of  the  same  year,  1832.  I 
found  him  as  before  in  the  garret  in  bed.  He  asked  me  if  I  did  not  think 
he  was  dying.  I  told  him  I  thought  not.  He  then  asked  me  if  I  thought 
him  capable  of  making  a -will,  or  if  he  was  in  his  right  mind.  I  an 
swered  I  hope  you  are.  He  handed  me  a  paper,  which  he  said  was  his 
will.  He  said  he  was  blind,  and  could  see  but  little,  but  felt  on  the  paper 
for  a  wax  or  wafer  seal.  He  said  :  "  I  acknowledge  this  to  be  my  hand 
and  seal,  act  and  deed." 

His  name  was  signed  to  the  paper,  which  he  said  he  had  written  in  a 
great  hurry,  expecting  to  die  every  minute.  I  witnessed  it,  and  he  then 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  109 

requested  me  to  send  for  some  other  witness.  I  accordingly  sent  for  Mr. 
H.  and  Mr.  C.,  who  came  and  also  witnessed  the  paper. 

He  advised  me  if  I  had  any  money  owing  to  me  to  collect  it,  or  owing 
from  me  to  pay  it.  Spoke  of  South  Carolina  nullification ;  said  that 
dreadful  times  were  coming.  The  United  States  Bank  would  be  broke ; 
troops  would  he  marching  through  the  country;  breadstuffs  would  be  very 
high.  He  advised  us  to  make  grain  and  no  tobacco;  said  he  would  not 
take  Mr.  Gerard's  or  Mr.  Bruce's  bond  for  eighteen  cents.  He  had,  he 
said,  a  large  sum  of  money  in  bank,  and  wanted  me  to  write  a  check  in 
favor  of  Henry  Saint  George  Tucker,  president  of  the  Court  of  Appeals, 
to  enable  him  to  draw  it  all  in  gold  and  silver,  not  in  notes,  which  he  con 
sidered  no  better  than  trash. 

When  he  first  called  on  me  to  witness  the  paper  he  told  me  to  take  it, 
and  to  take  care  of  itj  and  made  me  promise  to  deliver  it  to  the  clerk  im 
mediately  after  his  death;  then  warned  me  against  letting  it  be  known, 
and  said  if  his  negroes  found  it  out  they  would  burn  my  house  over  me. 
After  I  had  witnessed  it,  however,  he  changed  his  mind,  and  concluded 
to  send  it  to  his  brother  by  an  express,  which  I  understood  he  did.  He 
frequently  repeated  the  words:  "  Take  notice,  I  am  in  my  right  mind." 

I  saw  him  again  in  April,  the  morning  of  the  day  he  went  to  the  court 
house.  He  seemed  to  be  in  a  stupor;  received  me  politely,  and  taking 
one  of  my  hands  between  both  of  his,  pressed  it,  and  closing  his  eyes 
said,  in  a  voice  hardly  audible,  "I  am  dying."  Asked  me  if  I  noticed 
that  Nero,  his  dog,  did  not  bark  at  me  when  I  came  in ;  said  that  he  had 
been  a  good  guard,  but  now  the  devil  had  gotten  into  him,  and  he  would 
bark  at  nobody. 

We  then  went  into  the  house.  His  servant,  John,  came  in  after  us.  He 
told  John  to  hand  him  old  Colonel  Morton's  cane.  He  then  gave  it  to  me 
to  keep;  said  he  expected  to  die,  and  wished  good  care  taken  of  it.  In 
this  time  John  went  out,  and  locked  the  door  after  him.  He  asked  me  if 
I  did  not  see  devils,  or  blue  devils,  I  forget  which,  standing  around  the 
room.  I  said  I  did  not;  at  which  he  seemed  greatly  surprised. 

He  said  he  had  a  portrait  of  my  mother — a  better  one  than  I  had.  He 
pointed  to  a  watch  hanging  up,  which  he  said  I  might  have.  John,  he 
said,  was  above  wearing  it.  The  watch  needed  some  repair.  Send  it  to 
Lynchburg,  said  he,  and  I  will  pay  for  it. 

He  had  just  found  out,  said  he,  how  it  was  that  the  portrait  of  my 


110  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

mother,  which  he  said  he  had,  was  better  than  mine.  Asked  me  if  I  had 
not  observed  that  there  was  a  harshness  in  the  features  in  the  portrait 
which  I  had,  and  accounted  for  it  by  saying  that  at  the  time  it  was  taken 
my  mother  was  looking  at  these  blue  devils.  He  then  said  I  must  go 
home,  as  he  knew  I  was  fond  of  home;  took  hold  of  my  hand  and  pressed 
it  to  his  bosom,  and  said  he  loved  me,  and  that  I  must  not  forsake  him. 

The  next  time  I  saw  him  was  in  the  month  of  September,  or  last  of  Au 
gust.  I  thought  him  free  from  all  excitement. 

The  result  of  the  prosecution  of was,  that  he  was  examined  by 

the  court  and  acquitted. 

I  believe  Mr.  Randolph  had  not  a  portrait  of  my  mother  in  his  posses 
sion.  When 's  case  was  before  me,  Mr.  Randolph  asked  me  to 

swear  him  as  a  witness.  I  told  him  that  he  had  been  sworn  to  get  rid  of 
him.  I  did  not  think  he  was  in  a  situation  to  give  evidence.  He  was 
violently  excited,  and  in  a  great  rage. 

When  asked  the  question :  "  Did  you  think  him  insane  when  he  made 
the  will  in  March?"  Mr.  D.  answered:  "I  was  not  certain.  I  thought 
he  had  been  drinking,  as  I  smelt  spirits  very  strong,  and  he  sent  me  out  of 
the  room  several  times.  On  another  occasion  he  sent  me  out  of  the  room 
in  the  same  manner,  two  or  three  times.  Once  he  sent  me  out  with  a 
watch  into  another  house  to  ascertain  the  time  of  day.  When  I  came 
back  I  thought  he  smelt  stronger  of  spirits  than  before,  and  did  not  seem 
to  care  about  knowing  what  o'clock  it  was.  He  sent  me  again  to  find  his 
English  papers,  saying  that  the  servants  could  not  find  them.  I  brought 
them  to  him,  and  he  pressed  them  in  his  hands,  with  the  remark,  that  they 
were  his  only  source  of  amusement." 

"Did  you  perceive  that  he  was  more  abusive  to  his  servants,  and 
punished  them  more  frequently  after  his  return  from  Russia  than  before  ?" 

"  Answer.  He  was  more  abusive,  but  I  do  not  know  that  he  punished 
them  more  frequently." 

His  servants  were  excellent.  As  far  as  I  know,  there  was  no  founda 
tion  for  the  charge  made  against  them  by  Mr.  Randolph.  I  had  a  sus 
picion  that  they  did  trade  improperly,  and  that  some  of  them  were  guilty 
of  theft  while  he  was  in  Russia.  But  old  Essex  I  had  seen  sometimes  at 
the  tavern  in  the  neighborhood. 

Mr.  Randolph  sent  for  me  in  February,  1832,  the  evening  before  he 
went  to  Watkins's,  and  asked  me  to  ride  that  night  with  him  to  some 


OF   JOHN   RANDOLPH.  Ill 

magistrate  to  havfe  the  acknowledgment  of  some  deeds  taken.  He  said 
he  had  to  send  them  off  by  next  morning's  mail.  He  detained  me  at  his- 
house  reading  a  letter  to  me,  and  I  thought  it  was  too  late  to  go.  It  was 
also  very  cold,  and  I  objected  to  going  with  him.  He  said  I  must  not  lie, 
but  must  go  with  him.  He  wished  me  to  ride  in  the  carriage,  but  I  de 
clined.  He  then  said,  I  had  better  push  on  as  if  I  was  mounted  on  a 
plow  horse. 

He  told  me  to  go  to  Watkins's  store  and  wait  for  him.  I  rode  there 
and  waited  about  an  hour  and  a  half.  As  he  did  not  come,  I  started  to 
go  home;  but  met  him  on  the  road,  and  hailed  him.  He  said  he  should 
be  sorry  to  make  orphan  children  that  night,  and  insisted  that  I  should  get 
into  the  carriage,  as  it  was  so  cold  I  should  otherwise  freeze.  I  declined ; 
but  he  still  urged  me,  when  I  told  him  it  would  make  me  sick  to  ride  in 
the  carriage.  He  said  that  I  must  have  one  of  his  bottles  of  hot  water. 
He  handed  one  to  me,  and  I  took  it  in  my  hands,  and  put  it  back.  He 
then  said  I  must  have  some  hot  toddy,  which  he  made  and  handed  me. 
I  drank  part  of  it  and  gave  him  back  the  rest,  which  I  presume  he  drank, 
as  he  did  not  throw  it  out. 

We  went  on  a  little  farther,  when  he  stopped  and  asked  me  to  take  an 
other  drink,  which  I  declined,  saying  one  was  enough.  He  stopped  some 
time.  What  he  was  doing,  I  do  not  know.  He  again  stopped  a  third 
time,  but  did  not  again  ask  me  to  drink.  We  then  went  on  to  Watkins's 
store.  When  he  got  out  of  the  carriage,  he  put  his  cloak  over  one  of  the 
horses.  When  we  went  in,  he  returned  to  see  about  some  sugar  which  he 
said  had  been  spilt  in  the  carriage.  I  remained  in  the  house,  and  when 
he  came  back  he  was  rubbing  his  hands  saying:  " I  am  frost-bitten.  I  am 
frost-bitten."  He  then  sat  down  and  wrote  letters,  and  I  wrote  the  ac 
knowledgments,  which,  I  believe,  he  dispatched  to  the  post-office  that 
night. 

I  went  home  and  left  him  there.     I  did  not  hear  any  of  the  letters  read. 

He  was  excited  I  thought  by  drinking,  but  I  considered  him  capable  of 
transacting  business.  He  said  he  must  send  them  off  that  night,  as  his 
honor  was  pledged  to  do  so.  I  do  not  know  when  the  deeds  were  made. 
I  understand  that  they  conveyed  lots  in  Farmville.  I  am  under  the  im 
pression  that  the  deeds  were  inclosed  and  sent  off  that  night  by  a  boy. 

I  am  a  very  near  neighbor  of  Mr.  Randolph's.  Before  he  went  to  Rus 
sia  he  was  in  the  habit  of  visiting  me  frequently,  but  he  did  not  visit  me. 
after  his  return  from  Russia. 


112  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

A  few  pages  of  the  manuscript  of  Mr.  W.  B.  Green  will 
come  in  very  appropriately  here.  He  says: 

Mr.  Randolph  always  professed  to  be  an  orthodox  Christian,  and  con 
sequently  recognized  the  personality  of  the  devil  on  all  proper  occasions. 

It  was,  I  think,  in  the  winter  preceding  his  death,  or  perhaps  the  win 
ter  before,  that  he  set  out  from  home  in  a  deep  snow,  late  in  the  afternoon, 
to  visit  me,  for  the  purpose  of  having  some  deeds  certified  for  lots  in 
Farmville,  which  he  had  sold.  On  his  way  to  my  house  he  learned  (or 
imagined  that  he  had)  that  the  devil  had  gotten  after  me,  and  that  I  had 
left  home  and  gone  up  to  the  Rev.  Clement  Read's  (my  father-in-law)  to 
get  him  to  pray  for  me.  Hearing  this  on  the  road,  he  turned  back  at 
Overby's  store  and  went  to  Captain  Watkins's,  where  he  remained  all 
night.  It  was  from  him  that  I  learned  these  particulars.  The  Captain 
also  informed,  me  that  Mr.  Randolph  kept  him  up  nearly  all  night  burning 
-and  drinking  burnt  rum.  He  had  doubtless  made  a  free  use  of  rum  on 
the  road.  I  was  at  the  time  at  home,  and  quite  happy. 

I  have  always  considered  it  fortunate  for  myself  that  he  did  not  come 
to  my  house  that  night,  for  if  he  had  I  should  have  been  summoned  to 
Petersburg  instead  of  Captain  Watkins,  as  witness  in  the  will  case. 
Captain  Watkins,  and  several  other  gentlemen  from  Charlotte,  were  wit 
nesses,  and  the  former,  when  giving  testimony  before  the  court,  mentioned 
what  has  been  above  stated. 

This  was,  however,  by  no  means  the  first  time  that  Mr.  Randolph's 
imagination  had  been  disturbed  by  the  devil.  Many  years  before  he  had 
been  in  a  high  state  of  excitement,  which  continued  for  a  considerable 
length  of  time.  The  devil  took  advantage  of  this,  and  through  key-holes 
and  crevices  insinuated  himself  into  the  bed  rooms  and  all  parts  of  the 
house,  until  the  annoyance  could  no  longer  be  borne.  Mr.  Randolph 
posted  off  a  messenger  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Clopton,  requesting  him  to  come 
to  his  aid  and  abate  the  nuisance.  I  do  not  know  whether  Mr.  Clopton 
went  or  not;  I  presume  he  did  not  go. 

We  will  now  lay  before  the  reader  the  Randolphiana, 
furnished  us  by  Dr.  I.  B.  Rice,  who  resided  on  the  Staunton, 
about  eight  miles  above  Mr.  Randolph's,  a  man  of  sterling 
integrity,  upon  whose  statements  the  reader  may  implicitly 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  113 

rely.  He  pleads  Mr.  Randolph's  ill  health  in  mitigation  of 
much  of  the  irregularity  of  his  conduct. 

After  stating  that  "Mr.  Randolph  appeared  among  men 
as  a  towering  oak  amongst  the  undergrowth  of  the  forest," 
he  proceeded  to  furnish  us  with  the  Randolphiana,  which 
occurred  to  him  at  the  time  we  made  our  request.  We  copy 
literally  from  his  manuscript. 

On  one  occasion,  I  met  with  him  at  Mrs.  D.'s,  in  the  county  of 
Charlotte,  on  a  morning  visit  to  her.  He  was  very  agreeable ;  asked 

me  "  How  is  Dr. this  morning?"  I  remarked  he  was  still  very 

ill;  that  he  would  not  take  the  advice  of  physicians,  but  practiced  on 
himself.  "That,"  said  Mr.  Randolph,  "reminds  me  of  an  old  Spanish 
adage,  that  '  a  man  who  practiced  on  himself  had  a  fool  for  a  physician.'  " 

He  found  Mrs.  D.  busily  engaged  in  making  clothes  for  the  Greeks. 
.(At  that  time  there  was  considerable  sympathy  expressed  in  this  country 
for  the  Greeks  in  their  effort  to  throw  off  the  Turkish  yoke.  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  opposed  the  resolutions  introduced  in  Congress,  and  on  that  occa 
sion  made  one  of  the  great  speeches  of  his  life.)  As  he  left,  after  the 
door  was  closed,  he  saw  two  ragged  negroes  passing  by.  He  told  them 
to  stop.  He  again  knocked,  and  Mrs.  D.  returned.  He  pointed  at  the 
negroes,  and  said  to  her:  "Madam,  the  Greeks  are  at  your  door"  and 
passed  rapidly  away. 

He  once  set  his  hands  to  pulling  fodder  on  the  Sabbath.  A  lady  re 
marked  to  him  that  it  was  sinful.  "No,"  said  he,  "it  is  the  pulling  my 
ass  and  ox  out  of  the  mire." 

In  the  Virginia  Convention  Mr.  Benjamin  Watkins  Leigh  was  at  a  loss 
for  an  epithet  with  which  to  designate  the  Western  people  of  Virginia. 
"Call  them  horned  cattle,"  said  Mr.  Randolph. 

On  another  occasion  in  the  Convention,  when  Alexander  Campbell  was 
replying  to  some  personal  allusions  to  himself,  among  other  things  he 
said :  "  The  gentleman's  remarks  had  no  more  effect  than  the  falling  of 
the  last  leaf  in  Autumn."  Mr.  Randolph  replied:  "I  perceive  my  shot 
has  stuck." 

He  had  made  a  long  absence  from  home.  On  his  return  he  learned 
•that  his  negroes  had  been  sick,  and  that  one  had  died.  Mr.  Randolph 


114  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

asked  if  a  physician  had  been  sent  for,  and  was  replied  to  in  the  negative* 
"  Then,"  he  said,  "  the  poor  fellow  had  a  fair  chance,  and  died  a  natural 
death." 

His  passion  for  fine  horses  was  great,  and  he  had  many  of  his  own  to 
admire.  Two  of  his  favorite  horses  were  once  presented  to  public  view ; 
one  (Gascoigne)  under  size,  and  in  other  particulars  defective,  which  he 
earnestly  eulogized ;  the  other  (Janus)  a  horse  of  great  beauty  and  merit. 
He  was  asked  by  a  gentleman  what  he  had  to  say  for  him?  "  Nothing," 
he  replied;  "he  stands  for  himself." 

I  heard  a  gentleman  ask  alter  his  health  on  one  occasion.  His  reply 
was:  "Dying,  sir;  this  continent  was  not  made  for  the  white  man,  but 
the  red  man. "  On  another  occasion  his  reply  was  :  "  This  church-yard 
cough  will  surely  kill  me." 

My  opinion  for  a  long  time  has  been  that  Mr.  Randolph's  mind  was 
as  sound  as  any  man's,  and  that  much  of  the  irregularity  of  his  conduct 
proceeded  from  disease  of  body  and  inebriety.  I  believe  that  he  never 
had  an  hour  of  good  health,  nor  was  he  ever  free  from  physical  suffering. 
A  great  deal  of  his  suffering  was  of  that  class  of  diseases  which  are  miti 
gated  by  stimuli,  which  he  used  freely,  until  they  brought  his  system  into 
a  terrible  state  of  mental  excitement  and  physical  debility,  and  until  the 
use  of  them  was  a  fixed  fact  with  him,  necessary  to  sustain  his  bodily 
energies  and  even  his  life. 

Besides  two  valuable  letters  furnished  us  by  Judge  F.  N. 
Watkins,  we  are  indebted  to  him  for  some  interesting  notes 
concerning  Mr.  Randolph.  We  give  them  in  his  own  lan 
guage.  He  says : 

When  I  went  to  the  bar,  the  Honorable  James  W.  Bouldin  was  still 
in  practice.  In  calling  the  docket  in  the  county  court,  Mr.  Randolph  had 
been  a  party  to  some  motion  or  suit.  He  having  died,  it  was  necessary 
to  revive  it,  or  let  it  go  off  in  some  way.  Many  of  the  old  justices  were 
afraid  of  Mr.  Randolph  (in  his  latter  days  especially).  When  the  clerk 
called  the  case  there  was  quite  a  pause  and  silence.  Neither  court  (jus 
tices)  or  counsel  seemed  disposed  to  say  a  word.  Mr.  Bouldin  in  his  very 
peculiar  and  amusing  way  said,  so  that  all  the  court  could  hear :  "  Mr. 
Randolph  is  dead  now;  you  need  not  be  afraid  of  him  now." 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  115 

Mr.  Randolph  drove  up  to  the  old  hotel  in  Farmville,  during  the  last 
year  or  two  of  his  life,  in  his  carriage  and  four.  Juba  went  promptly  to  the 
heads  of  the  leaders,  and  Johnny  to  the  carriage  door.  Messrs.  M.  and 
J.  were  sitting  in  the  porch.  Seeing  Mr.  Randolph's  feeble  condition, 
they  hastened  to  the  carriage  to  help  him  out  and  up  the  steps  of  the 
hotel.  Petulantly  he  called  Juba,  and  reproving  him  for  not  helping  him 
out  the  carriage,  struck  him  with  a  little  cane  several  times.  Juba  re 
minded  him  that  his  own  orders  required  him  to  promptly  stand  at  the 
horses'  heads,  while  Johnny's  duty  was  to  help  him  out.  Messrs.  J.  and 
M.  assisted  him  to  his  room  on  the  first  floor,  and  Randolph  threw  himself 
on  the  bed.  They  asked  whether  "  they  could  serve  him,  and  what  were 
his  wishes,"  &c.  "I  gave  orders,"  said  Randolph,  "to  have  a  private 
room  prepared  for  me,  and  here  I  am,  where  I  can't  be  alone."  Of 
course  the  •gentlemen  at  once  retired. 


116  HOME    REMINISCENCES 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Secret  of  his  Success — How  he  carried  Elections — Highly  Dramatic 
Scenes — An  Overseer  scared  out  of  his  Wits — a  Religious  Lecture  sud 
denly  cut  short — A  Georgian  run  clean  out  of  the  Country — Anecdotes 
by  Henry  Carrington,  Esq. 

IN  one  respect,  Mr.  Randolph's  life  may  be  regarded  a 
perfect  success.  From  the  time  that  he  made  his  first 
appearance  upon  the  political  arena,  to  the  last  year  of 
his  life,  he  held  high  and  responsible  positions  in  the  affairs 
of  the  nation. 

"  For  more  than  thirty  years,"  says  Mr.  Benton,  "  he  was 
the  political  meteor  of  Congress,  blazing  with  undiminished 
splendor  during  the  whole  time.  His  parliamentary  life  was 
resplendent  in  talent,  elevated  in  moral  tone,  always  moving 
on  the  lofty  line  of  honor  and  patriotism,  and  scorning 
everything  mean  and  selfish.  He  was  the  indignant  enemy 
of  personal  and  plunder  legislation,  and  the  very  scourge 
of  intrigue  and  corruption."  "  During  the  first  six  years  of 
Mr.  Jefferson's  administration,"  adds  the  same  high  autho 
rity,  "he  was  the  Murat  of  his  party,  brilliant  in  the  charge, 
and  always  ready  for  it,  and  valued  in  the  council  as  well 
as  in  the  field.  In  England  we  are  informed  that  "his  com 
pany  was  sought  after  by  the  nobility  and  gentry,  and  on 
one  occasion  royalty  itself  condescended  to  admit  him  within 
the  same  tent."  Lord  L.  was  forced  to  acknowledge  that 
his  conversations  were  most  dazzling  even  in  London. 

His  example    of  lofty    purpose,  untarnished   honor   and 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  117 

manly  bearing,  was  worth  a  great  deal  to  the  nation.  It  is 
true  that  there  are  few  great  measures  of  civil  polity  which 
his  admirers  can  lay  their  hands  upon,  and  say:  "This  is 
Randolph's  work !"  Mr.  Baldwin  says :  "None."  Mr.  Saw 
yer  admits  that  "there  were  some  important  measures  for 
wrhich  the  nation  is  indebted  to  his  oratorical  powers,  as  the 
originator  and  successful  defender;"  and  he  mentions  the 
substitution  under  the  appropriate  heads,  of  specific,  instead 
of  general  and  indefinite  appropriations,  which  he  brought 
about  after  a  warm  and  extremely  powerful  discussion  with 
Mr.  Lowndes,  of  South  Carolina,  who  advocated  the  old 
system.  The  standing  appropriation  of  $200,000,  for  arrri- 
ing  the  whole  body  of  the  militia,  is  also  placed  to  his  credit. 

The  reader  doubtless  remembers  that  in  his  speech  at 
Halifax  Court-house,  in  1827,  he  plead  guilty  to  the  charge 
of  "trying  to  pull  down  other  men's  work,"  and  boasted 
that  "  it  was  the  brightest  feather  in  his  cap."  "  My  whole 
aim,"  he  said,  "has  been  to  prevent  not  to  promote  legisla 
tion." 

But  it  is  to  Mr.  Randolph  at  home  that  we  wish  to  devote 
ourself  mainly.  He  exerted  an  influence  which  no  other 
man  in  his  district  or  any  other  district  ever  did.  His  power 
was  almost  supreme.  We  stated  that  he  never  was  defeated 
but  once  before  the  people,  and  that  was  by  Mr.  Eppes,  who 
he  charged  was  imported  like  a  stallion,  for  the  purpose  of 
being  run  against  him. 

Mr.  Baldwin,  in  his  Party  Leaders,  says  "  he  was  defeated, 
and  without  a  murmur  bowed  his  head  to  the  stroke." 

We  say  emphatically  that  is  not  Mr.  Randolph.  He  may 
have  gone  about  in  a  more  pleasing  shape  than  that  of  a 
roaring  lion,  but  he  certainly  sought  whom  he  might  devour. 
His  resentment  was  high  and  lasting.  He  never  did  forgive 
those  who  voted  against  him.  Mr.  Baldwin  invests  him  with 


118  HOME     REMINISCENCES 

a  degree  of  Christian  patience,  which  he  was  far  from  pos 
sessing.  Of  all  the  men  upon  the  face  of  the  earth,  we 
should  say  he  was  the  least  disposed  to  bow  to  a  stroke  of 
that  sort.  One  of  his  old  constituents  once  told  us  that  he 
frequently  alluded  to  the  canvass  with  Eppes,  in  which  he 
was  defeated,  and  in  no  pleasant  manner.  We  were  forcibly 
reminded  of  this  remark  wrhen  we  read  the  manuscript  re 
port  of  the  last  speech  he  made  to  the  people  of  Charlotte 
nearly  twenty  years  after  the  canvass  with  Eppes.  This 
speech,  as  reported  by  one  who  heard  it,  and  took  it  down 
at  the  time,  is  now  before  us,  and  in  it  we  find  him  cutting 
at  those  who  assisted  in  returning  him,  "to  be  discharged 
from  the  confidence  of  his  old  constituents."  We  once 
heard  one  of  the  keenest  observers  of  human  nature  say, 
that  notwithstanding  Mr.  Randolph  visited  on  terms  of 
friendship  at  her  brother's,  she  fancied  she  could  see  in  his 
eye,  beneath  all  that  was  superficial,  that  he  remembered  her 
father's  political  opposition  long  years  before. 

The  question  is  sure  to  rise  in  the  minds  of  intelligent 
readers,  how  did  Mr.  Randolph  gain  such  continued  support 
of  the  people?  What  made  them  vote  for  him ? 

We  have  the  greatest  respect  for  Mr.  Benton's  "Thirty 
Years"  view  of  Mr.  Randolph  in  Congress;  but  not  much 
value  could  be  placed  upon  a  picture  of  Mr.  Randolph  at 
home,  taken  from  his  observatory  at  Washington.  In  our 
estimation,  the  likeness  drawn  by  Hon.  James  W.  Bouldin, 
who  saw  him  in  his  house,  on  his  plantation,  and  on  the 
court  green,  is  much  more  valuable. 

When  Mr.  Benton  informed  us  that  he  never  saw  Mr. 
Randolph  affected  by  wine,  we  were  somewhat  surprised; 
but  we  were  still  more  so  when  he  intimates  that  his  popu 
larity  was  founded  upon  the  love  and  affection  of  his  people. 
A  member  of  Congress  for  sixteen  years  with  him,  and  who 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  119 

afterwards  published  a  biography  of  him,  after  speaking  of 
his  strong  and  lasting  friendship  for  Mr.  Tazewell,  says:  "So 
with  many  others,  and  preeminently  so  of  his  constituents — 
the  people  of  his  congressional  district — affectionate  and 
faithful  to  him,  electing  him,  as  they  did,  from  boyhood  to 
the  grave." 

Again,  Mr.  Benton  says,  his  friendship  with  Mr.  Macon 
was  historical.  It  is  true  that  his  friendship  for  a  few,  very 
few,  of  his  neighbors,  and  constituents  in  the  different  coun 
ties  composing  his  district,  was  proverbial ;  but  it  is  equally 
true  that  his  capacity  for  friendship  was  very  small. 

In  conversing  with  the  old  men  of  Charlotte,  they  will 
talk  a  long  time  about  how  Mr.  Randolph  flattered  this  one 
to  carry  his  point;  how  he  barbecued  another  for  merely 
differing  with  him  in  opinion ;  how  he  drove  men  clean  out 
of  the  country  who  offended  him;  how  ridiculous  he  some 
times  made  his  acquaintances  appear;  we  say  they  will 
entertain  you  a  long  time  in  this  way,  before  they  will  men 
tion  one  word  about  his  friendship  for  anybody,  or  any 
body's  for  him. 

The  means  which  a  master  spirit  employs  in  gaining  his 
influence  and  establishing  himself  firmly  upon  his  throne, 
must  ever  be  a  subject  for  curious  speculation.  This  is  par 
ticularly  the  case  in  regard  to  Mr.  Randolph.  But,  really, 
we  should  never  get  at  the  secret  of  his  success  if  we  relied 
on  the  books  that  have  been  written ;  they  being  inconsis 
tent  with  themselves  and  with  one  another  upon  this  point. 

His  first  biographer  attributes  his  popularity  to  his  "acts 
of  neighborly  kindness,"  and  his  "free  and  easy  manners." 
Another  says,  "his  want  of  charity  was  his  greatest  defect;" 
and  laments  that,  "to  the  constancy  and  intrepidity  of  Mr. 
Randolph  were  not  allied  the  suavity  and  gentleness  of  man- 


120  HOME     REMINISCENCES 

ner,  which  had  made  those  stern  attributes  to  be  beloved  as 
well  as  admired." 

Mr.  Baldwin  states  that  Mr.  Randolph  was  "eminently 
unsocial,  proud,  reserved,  uncommunicative,"  and  that  "he 
never  made  a  speech  that  he  did  not  make  more  enemies 
than  converts.  How  then  did  he  manage  always  but  once 
to  be  elected?  And  what  becomes  of  Mr.  Benton's  theory 
of  the  affection  of  his  constituents,  electing  him,  as  they  did, 
from  boyhood  to  the  grave?  And  there  is  something  almost 
laughable  in  the  idea  that  Mr.  Randolph  owed  his  success 
to  "his  acts  of  neighborly  kindness."  He  did  not  owe  it  to 
his  "free  and  easy  manners,"  nor  to  his  "imposing  pres 
ence,"  nor  to  the  affection  of  his  constituents  gained  by  any 
means;  but  he  owed  it  to  his  commanding  genius,  to  the 
force  of  his  will  and  the  great  strength  of  his  moral  and 
physical  courage.  And  it  was  chiefly  by  flattery,  by  domi 
neering,  by  bullying,  that  he  obtained  his  unparalleled  sway.. 
But  his  was  not  the  fulsome  adulation  applied  without  dis 
crimination;  nor  was  he  an  ordinary  street  bully.  In  all  his 
acts  he  was  infinitely  above  ordinary  men.  His  knowledge 
of  human  nature  was  miraculous,  and  he  had  the  greatest 
facility  for  applying  his  knowledge.  He  had  unwavering 
supporters ;  but  for  the  most  part  they  were  men  who  had 
no  affection  for  him ,  who  had  never  received  any  favors  at 
his  hands.  Some  voted  for  him  because  he  was  an  able  and 
fearless  exponent  of  their  principles;  but  it  was,  as  we 
stated,  chiefly  by  arts  of  flattery  and  bullying  that  he  ob 
tained  his  almost  supreme  power  in  his  district.  There  is 
much  truth  in  what  Miss  Mary  Bouldin  replied,  when  we 
asked  her  how  Mr.  Randolph  gained  his  position  in  society: 
"  By  kicking  every  body  else  out  of  their  places  and  getting 
in  himself,"  she  said.  She  went  on  to  state,  that  if  there  was 
a  man  who  stood  high  in  the  community  before  Mr.  Ran- 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  121 

dolph  came  to  the  county  himself,  a  man  of  great  talents 
and  virtue,  he  soon  gave  him  to  understand  that  he,  Ran 
dolph,  must  be  foremost,  and  that  he  did  not  intend  to  join 
in  the  worship  of  him.  If  a  citizen  of  his  county  held  a 
prominent  position  and  opposed  him,  he  immediately,  set  to 
work  to  pull  him  down — and  that  must  have  been  a  solid 
foundation  which  his  destructive  hand  could  not  demolish. 

No  one  flattered  more  his  friends  than  he  did;  none  were 
capable  of  doing  it  in  finer  style.  Few  could  resist  his  arts. 
A  young  man  of  talent  and  promise,  upon  whom  he  chose 
for  some  cause  or  other  to  lavish  his  favors,  might  be  con 
scious  of  his  insincerity,  might  have  received  the  solemn 
warnings  of  his  friends,  still  he  would  remain  under  the 
spell  of  his  influence.  Nor  could  he  be  led  away  from  the 
snare  by  his  father  even,  until  the  tempter  changed  his  bet 
ter  nature,  and  "by  some  devilish  cantrap  slight,"  suddenly 
forced  him  from  his  presence.  Then  followed  tears  of  re 
pentance,  for  having  neglected  the  advice  of  his  parent  who, 
from  long  observation,  had  discovered  how  easily  Mr.  Ran 
dolph's  friendship  was  estranged,  and  how  deadly  his  resent 
ment  against  those  he  once  pretended  to  love. 

When  he  chose  to  make  himself  agreeable,  there  was  a 
charm  about  him  which  was  irresistible.  The  pious  old 
lady,  who  religiously  observed  the  second  commandment, 
never  having  seen  Mr.  Randolph,  might  grieve  to  find  her 
husband  worshiping  an  idol  below,  but  when  she  too  came 
to  know  him  well,  found  herself  kneeling  at  the  same  idola 
trous  shrine.  We  should  like  to  know  how  many  of  those 
he  determined  to  win  ever  failed  to  be  won.  The  only  way 
of  escape,  we  imagine,  was  to  flee.  To  remain  within  the 
sound  of  that  voice,  when  in  tune,  to  gaze  upon  that  eye 
when  "the  fire  was  quenched,"  was  certain  and  hopeless 
captivity.  It  is  curious  how  that  eye  and  that  voice  could 


122  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

be  made  at  one  time  the  instrument  of  such  pleasure,  and  at 
another  of  such  pain ;  how  his  presence  should  be  so  fasci 
nating  to  his  friends,  and  so  terrible  to  his  foes.  But  it  is  no 
wonder  that  with  these  extraordinary  physical  advantages 
and  his  genius  he  "raised  emotions  never  felt  before,"  and 
produced  effects  which  the  world  despaired  of  ever  witness 
ing  again. 

But,  like  Swift,  Mr.  Randolph  coveted  the  fear  of  his  fel 
low  man  more  than  his  love  or  admiration.  His  genius  was 
idolized,  but  the  man  was  not  beloved.  He  possessed  the 
art  of  making  people  in  love  with  themselves,  but  not  with 
him.  He  mixed  very  little  with  society  at  home,  and  had 
none  of  those  qualities  which  drew  his  supporters  near.  He 
looked  upon  mankind  in  the  light  in  which  they  are  repre 
sented  in  the  Scriptures,  but  without  charity.  Hence  he 
preferred  to  govern  by  fear  rather  than  by  love;  to  drive, 
instead  of  leading  them  gently  by  the  hand. 

We  are  not  mistaken  in  saying  that  he  possessed  an  in 
fluence  in  his  district  which  no  other  man  ever  did.  During 
a  long  career  of  public  service,  as  stated  before,  he  was  never 
defeated  before  the  people  but  once.  His  conduct,  in  conse 
quence  of  that  defeat,  his  never  forgetting  it,  his  high  re 
sentment  against  those  who  voted  against  him,  and  the 
means  he  adopted  of  repairing  his  loss  and  ensuring  his 
next  election,  lets  us  into  the  secret  of  his  great  success,  and 
utterly  dispels  the  illusion  about  his  ''bowing  his  head  to 
the  stroke  without  a  murmur." 

In  some  places  we  are  informed  the  people  voted  for  his 
opponent  en  masse.  He  found  out  the  leading  men  in  all 
the  neighborhoods  which  went  against  him.  It  is  astonish 
ing  what  a  knowledge  he  had,  not  only  of  the  public  affairs 
of  others,  but  of  their  private  concerns.  It  seemed  he  knew 
everything  that  was  going  on,  heard  everything  to  be  heard, 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  123 

-and  saw  everything  in  sight,  and  what  he  could  neither  see 
nor  hear,  he  had  some  one  to  tell  him,  even  if  it  was  a  negro. 

So  it  was  one  court  day  he  sought  out  a  certain  Mr.  S., 
who  he  knew  had  carried  a  certain  precinct  almost  unani 
mously  for  Mr.  Eppes.  He  met  him  with  malice  prepense, 
but  with  all  the  forms  of  the  greatest  politeness  and  friend 
ship.  . 

Now  let  the  reader  bear  in  mind  that  whenever  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  stopped  for  a  moment  on  the  street,  the  people  began 
to  collect  around  him,  and  if  he  remained  long  at  a  place 
talking  politics  to  any  one,  the  whole  court  green  was  gazing 
at  him,  and  eagerly  catching  in  every  word  he  said. 

Mr.  S.  being  artfully  drawn  into  a  political  discussion,  Mr. 
Randolph  propounded  to  him  some  of  the  most  difficult 
•questions  that  ever  were  conceived  of,  questions  which  per 
haps  Webster  himself  could  not  have  answered. 

His  opponent  being  a  plain  farmer,  who  made  no  pre 
tensions  to  deep  learning,  failed  of  course  to  solve  the  ab 
struse  problems.  Mr.  Randolph  would  then  express  the 
greatest  astonishment  that  a  man  of  his  sense  and  weight  in 
the  community  had  not  turned  his  attention  to  those  matters. 

Mr.  Randolph  raising  his  voice  to  a  pitch  resembling  a 
speech,  by  this  time  had  gathered  a  tremendous  crowd 
around  him,  who  witnessed  the  agonizing  scene.  Mr.  S. 
would  have  given  his  right  arm  for  a  chance  to  escape ;  but 
the  inexorable  schoolmaster  held  him  on  to  his  lessons.  To 
break  off  and  run  before  everybody,  and  with  a  fire  in  rear, 
was  what  he  could  not  stand. 

Mr.  Randolph  kept  putting  knotty  questions  to  him,  which 
he  failed  to  answer,  whereupon  he  would  repeat  his  expres 
sions  of  astonishment.  Still,  all  was  done  in  such  elegant 
•style,  that  no  offence  could  be  taken.  But  no  school-boy  on 


124  HOME     REMINISCENCES 

examination  ever  suffered  more  at  being  found  deficient  than- 
did  Mr.  S.  on  this  memorable  occasion. 

The  sympathies  of  the  spectators  were  all  against  the  ig 
norant  man  who  undertook  to  control  the  votes  of  others. 
For,  we  may  rest  assured,  that  Mr.  Randolph,  before  he  was 
done  with  him,  made  them  believe  that  his  antagonist  had 
committed  an  unpardonable  sin.  We  would  not  be  surprised 
if  they  were  enraged  both  against  themselves  and  him — 
themselves  for  following  the  blind  and  him  for  presuming  to 
lead. 

This  thorough  examination  and  exposure,  before  a  large 
collection  of  people,  we  are  informed,  completely  destroyed 
the  confidence  of  the  neighbors  in  the  political  sagacity  of 
the  said  Mr.  S.     At  the  next  election  Mr.  Randolph  carried 
the  precinct  by  an  overwhelming  majority. 

This  unmerciful  chastisement  was  to  be,  moreover,  a  warn 
ing  to  all  who  should  dare  to  take  an  active  part  against  him 
for  all  time  to  come. 

Few  men  who,  if  they  had  the  ability,  have  the  heart  to 
expose  a  man  after  this  manner.  But,  we  must  recollect, 
Mr.  Randolph  could  stand  no  opposition,  and  individual 
feeling  was  never  in  his  way.  Nor  did  he  regulate  the  pun 
ishment  according  to  the  offence.  If  he  were  thwarted  in 
the  least,  he  would  crush  the  very  soul  .of  his  opponent. 

Attacks  upon  the  feelings  and  opinions  of  others  was  one 
of  the  means  he  adopted  of  maintaining  his  supremacy. 
But  he  also  made  people  afraid  of  the  dirk  which  he  wore  in 
his  pocket.  Generally,  he  could  pierce  a  man  through  with 
that  long  bony  finger ;  but  those  who  were  insensible  to  that, 
he  wished  to  keep  in  dread  of  the  solid  metal. 

His  plan  was  to  make  people  afraid  of  him  physically,  as 
well  as  mentally.  He  frequently  talked  about  shooting  peo 
ple.  He  threatened  to  shoot  Mr.  S.,  and  actually  called  for 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  125 

him  at  a  sale  for  the  purpose ;  but  Mr.  S.  stood  firm  and  Mr. 
Randolph  abandoned  what  he  pretended  was  his  purpose. 

He  also  threatened  the  son  of  Mr.  S.,  and  scared  him  ter 
ribly,  for  talking  about  whipping  his  servant,  Juba. 

As  to  his  servants,  he  kept  them  in  terror  of  him. 

After  his  return  from  Russia,  and  after  the  Southampton 
insurrection,  he  gave  orders  that  all  his  negroes  should 
change  quarters.  Those  at  the  lower  should  be  moved  to 
the  upper  plantation,  and  vice  versa.  At  the  same  time  he 
instituted  a  general  search  for  stolen  goods. 

In  one  of  the  cabins  he  found  some  wood,  which  he  said 
he  was  convinced  was  stolen.  He  shut  himself  up  in  the 
same  room  with  the  suspected  negro,  told  him  he  could  not 
live  in  the  same  world  with  such  a  rascal,  and  gave  him  one 
gun,  and  he  took  another.  The  poor  slave,  alarmed  nearly 
to  death,  ran  up  stairs  and  jumped  out  of  the  window. 

All  this  was  for  effect.  He  knew  his  servant  was  afraid  to 
defend  himself;  nor  had  he  the  slightest  idea  of  shooting 
him ;  his  sole  object  was  to  place  the  negro  in  terror. 

His  method  of  dealing  with  his  overseers  is  well  known 
in  the  county.  We  have  seen  how  he  dismissed  one  for  not 
joining  in  his  abuse  of  a  neighbor,  and  how  he  made  another 
pull  off  his  shoes  before  he  went  in  to  see  him ;  we  will  now 
state  how  he  served  another  for  a  slight  variation  of  orders. 

In  a  spirit  of  spiteful  annoyance  to  a  gentleman  who  re 
sided  on  the  opposite  side  of  Staunton  river,  and  who  kept 
a  ferry,  he  established  another,  offering  its  use  gratuitously. 
One  day  Mr.  Randolph  rode  down  and  found  York,  the 
ferryman,  absent  from  his  post.  The  overseer  was  imme 
diately  summoned  to  explain  why  it  was  so. 

Mr.  Randolph  asked  him  if  he  did  not  tell  him  that  York 
was  to  be  on  the  bank  ? 

The  overseer  replied  that  he  had  merely  sent  him  a  little 


126  HOME     REMINISCENCES 

way  off  to  worm  some  tobacco,  which  he  thought  he  could 
do,  and  attend  to  the  ferry  besides. 

"The  next  time  you  disobey  my  orders,"  said  Mr.  Ran 
dolph,  "  I  wish  you  to  understand  that  you  are  to  be  cash 
iered." 

Mr.  Randolph  has  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the 
strangest  men  that  ever  lived ;  and  we  have  no  doubt  the 
reader,  when  he  opened  this  volume,  expected  to  find  a  re 
cord  of  some  of  his  extraordinary  deeds.  If  not  already 
satisfied  that  there  never  lived  a  human  being  like  him,  we 
are  confident  he  will  be  when  he  peruses  the  following  inci 
dents,  written  at  our  solicitation  by  the  late  Henry  Car- 
rington,  of  Charlotte  county,  Virginia,  a  gentleman  of  the 
highest  standing,  who  was  an  eye  witness  to  the  scenes  de 
scribed,  and  whose  statements  are  entitled  to  the  utmost 
credit.  We  are  glad  to  be  aSle  to  lay  them  before  the 
reader  in  his  own  words  and  graceful  style.  Mr.  Carrington 
says : 

In  1818  I  lived  in  Mr.  Randolph's  neighborhood — received  much  hos 
pitable  attention  from  him,  and  heard  many  things  from  him  highly  inter 
esting  to  me  at  the  time.  He  was,  at  that  time,  unconnected  with  the 
politics  of  the  country,  having  declined  a  reelection  to  Congress.  The 
year  was  also  memorable  in  the  history  of  Mr.  Randolph,  as  being  the 
time  at  which  he  made  a  profession  of  religion,  had  family  prayers,  and 
preached  to  his  servants  on  Sunday. 

Many  incidents  that  were  interesting  at  the  time  have  passed  away.  I 
recollect,  however,  one  or  two,  which  perhaps  it  may  be  well  to  preserve. 

In  the  above  mentioned  year,  Mr.  Randolph  failed  in  his  supply  of 
tobacco  plants  at  his  lower  quarter,  where  a  man  by  the  name  of  P.  was 
overseer.  About  the  first  of  July  he  ascertained  that  he  could  get  plants 
from  Colonel  C.,  in  Halifax.  He  wrote  to  P.  to  take  a  boat  belonging  to 
the  estate,  cross  the  river  to  Colonel  C.'s,  get  the  plants  and  plant  his  crop. 

Some  two  days  afterwards,  he  learned  that  the  overseer  had  not  obeyed 
the  order.  He  was  aroused.  He  wrote  to  me  to  meet  him  on  the  estate 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  12T 

at  nine  o'clock  next  day.  On  going  to  the  place,  according  to  his  ap 
pointment,  I  found  him  on  the  ground,  and  also  Colonel  C.,  Captain  W.,. 
Captain  J.  S.  and  Mr.  A.  G.  He  proposed  to  us  to  ride  with  him  over 
the  estate  and  view  the  condition  of  the  crops.  We  found  everything  in 
bad  order,  the  tobacco  ground  particularly  out  of  order  for  planting. 

After  consuming  some  hours  in  the  survey,  he  conducted  us  to  the  gra 
nary.  There  were  gathered  together  the  plantation  implements  of  every 
description,  and,  in  the  midst,  were  standing  two  negro  girls,  each  with  a 
mulatto  child  in  her  arms.  The  assemblage  was  remarkable,  aud  I  anx 
iously  expected  a  scene.  He  enquired  of  the  girls  where  was  P.  They 
said  that,  after  collecting  the  various  articles  then  in  our  view,  he  disap 
peared. 

Mr.  Randolph  said  he  had  ordered  him  also  to  be  present;  but  he  diso- 
•beyed  because  he  could  not  stand  the  ordeal  to  which  he  was  to  be  sub 
jected.  Then,  turning  to  Mr.  G.,  a  plain  but  respectable  citizen,  who  had, 
some  years  before,  acted  as  steward  for  Mr.  Randolph,  he  said :  "  I  have 
invited  you  here  to-day,  Mr.  G.,  to  make  to  you  publicly,  in  the  presence 
of  these  gentlemen,  all  the  reparation  in  my  power  for  the  great  injury  I, 
have  done  you." 

Mr.  G.  seemed  greatly  startled.  He  assured  Mr.  Randolph  that  there 
was  no  occasion  for  explanation;  that  he  had  always  treated  him  very 
well. 

"Sir,"  replied  Mr.  Randolph,  "you  are  greatly  mistaken.  For  more 
than  a  year  past,  I  have  endeavored  to  show  by  my  bearing  towards  you,, 
my  disgust  with  you  and  my  contempt  for  your  character.  But  I  am  un 
deceived.  This  fellow,  P.,  had  induced  me  to  believe  that  you  were  the 
father  of  the  children  now  before  us.  But,  I  now  know  that  he,  P.,  has 
carried  on  the  intercourse  which  he  charges  upon  you,  and  that  these  are 
his  children." 

Never  was  man  more  astonished  than  was  Mr.  G.  He  reiterated, — 
"never,  Mr.  Randolph,  was  there  a  greater  lie."  *  *  *  Mr.. 

Randolph  all  the  time  assuring  him  that  he  knew  that  he  had  wronged 
him,  and  therefore  he  was  anxious  to  make  the  most  ample  apology  and 
reparation. 

He  then  turned  to  the  gentlemen  present  and  said :  "  Look  at  these 
girls;  they  are  my  crop  hands.  See  how  their  heads  are  combed;  how 
oily  their  hair.  Do  they  look  like  they  had  stood  the  blasts  of  Winter  or 
Summer's  sun.  No,  sirs;  they  have  been  in  his  harem." 


128  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

The  scene  was  highly  dramatic ;  the  acting,  if  it  could  be  so  regarded, 
unsurpassed. 

After  this  scene  at  the  granary,  Mr.  Randolph  proposed  to  us  to  go  to 
the  house  and  get  some  fresh  water.  Mrs.  P.  brought  us  the  water.  Mr. 
Randolph,  in  our  presence,  said  to  her,  he  was  aware  of  the  infidelity  of 
her  husband,  and  felt  for  her  the  deepest  compassion. 

Mr.  P.  had,  in  the  mean  time,  taken  himself  to  some  house  in  the 
neighborhood,  where,  from  great  perturbation  of  spirit,  he  fell  ill.  Mr. 
Randolph  sent  for  a  lawyer  and  instituted  several  suits  against  him.  But, 
hearing  that  he  was  seriously  ill,  his  feelings  relented.  He  told  me  it  did 
not  become  him,  a  professing  Christian,  to  persecute  the  man  to  death. 
"  I  must  go  and  see  him,"  said  he;  and  he  did  so,  with  the  hope  of  curing 
and  relieving  him. 

He  told  P.  that  he  must  not  let  this  difficulty  depress  him;  that  the  suits  • 
he  had  ordered  against  him  must  be  prosecuted  to  judgment,  as  an  exam 
ple  to  his  successors,  but  that  no  execution  should  be  issued. 

Mr.  Randolph  asked  him  what  he  intended  to  do.  Mr.  P.  told  him  he 
wished  to  move  west.  Mr.  Randolph  asked  him  if  he  had  money  for  the 
purpose.  Mr.  P.  replied,  he  had  not;  but  that  he  proposed  selling  the 
negro  boy  who  waited  on  him.  Mr.  Randolph  asked  the  price.  Five 
hundred  dollars,  was  the  reply.  Thereupon  Mr.  Randolph  agreed  to  pur 
chase  the  boy,  and  paid  the  price. 

Mr.  Carrington  continues : 

In  August  of  the  year  1818,  there  came  to  Mr.  Randolph's  a  man  by 
the  name  of  M.,  who  represented  himself  to  be  a  citizen  of  Georgia,  but 
staying  at  present  with  G.  B.,  whose  lands  adjoined  Mr.  Randolph's,  that 
he  was  negotiating  with  said  B.  for  his  land,  and  that  he  had  called  on 
Mr.  Randolph  to  get  some  information  in  regard  to  the  dividing  lines  be 
tween  him  and  B. 

Mr.  Randolph  said  to  him,  that  he  must  decline  going  into  the  matter 
of  the  land;  but  there  was  one  subject  which  his  conscience  required  him 
to  bring  to  his  mind.  "Sir,"  said  Mr.  Randolph,  "there  is  a  subject  of 
vastly  more  importance  than  land — the  salvation  of  your  soul.  It  is 
strongly  impressed  upon  me  that  you  are  a  great  sinner.  It  is  too  proba 
ble  that  you  have  already  committed  the  unpardonable  sin ;  but  possibly 
this  may  not  be  the  case."  And  he  urged  upon  him  the  importance  of 
attending  to  this  great  matter. 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  129 

M.  was  amused  at  the  freedom  of  Mr.  Randolph's  remark,  and  con- 
•clucled  to  indulge  in  some  freedom  in  return  in  regard  to  Mr.  Randolph. 

He  said:  "Mr.  Randolph,  you  can't  tell  me  what  I  am  thinking  about." 
Mr.  Randolph  replied :  "  I  should  be  very  poorly  employed  in  guessing 
your  thoughts." 

M.  at  length  said :  "  Mr.  Randolph,  I  must  tell  you  what  I  am  thinking 
about — I  am  thinking  you  are  an  eunuch." 

Mr.  Randolph  immediately  assumed  the  loftiest  attitude.  "  Sir,"  said 
he,  "if  you  had  used  this  language  to  me  at  any  other  period  of  my  life, 
you  would  have  been  instantly  a  dead  man.  Nothing  restrains  me  from 
taking  your  unprofitable  life  but  the  fear  of  God  and  the  grace  that  is 
here,"  (laying  his  hand  upon  his  heart).  "Go,  sir;  leave  me,  lest  I 
be  tempted  to  sin." 

M.  left  in'great  consternation. 

Mr.  Randolph  came  into  the  room  where  were  assembled  Mr. ,  Dr. 

and  Dr. .     He  was  greatly  excited;  talked  till  late  bed-time  on 

the  subject.  Next  morning,  about  day-break,  he  came  into  the  room 
where  the  three  gentlemen  slept;  awoke  them,  and  said  that  he  had  made 
this  M.'s  conduct  the  subject  of  much  reflection  and  of  prayer;  and  he 
had  come  to  the  conclusion  that,  by  no  law,  human  or  divine,  ought  such 
a  wretch  to  live;  that  he  had  loaded  the  guns  and  ordered  an  early  break 
fast  and  horses,  and  they  must  all  go  and  put  him  to  death. 

All  was  hurry  and  preparation,  and  soon  they  were  on  their  way  to 
shoot  M.  Mr.  Randolph  declared  that  it  was  said  to  him  in  answer  to 
prayer  that  the  wretch  must  die. 

Arrived  at  the  place,  M.  was  called  out,  and  told  to  take  his  stand,  that 
they  came  to  take  his  life. 

M.  was  greatly  alarmed  and  agitated.  He  fell  on  his  knees  and  beg 
ged  for  life. 

Mr.  Randolph  made  every  demonstration  of  his  deadly  purpose,  but 
suddenly  seemed  to  relent,  and  said  that  as  he  so  eagerly  desired  to  live, 
and  certainly  was  in  no  condition  to  die,  he  would  grant  his  life,  but  on 
the  condition  that  he  should  immediately  leave  the  county  and  state,  and 
never  be  heard  of  here  again.  Moreover,  he  should  advertise  him  as  a 
swindler  and  imposter. 

M.  was  too  glad  to  accept  the  terms,  mounted  his  horse,  and  rode  off  at 
a  rapid  pace. 

9 


130  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

Mr.  Randolph  advertised  in  the  Enquirer  newspaper,  in  a  few  days 
thereafter,  the  said  M.  as  a  swindler  and  imposter,  and  a  purchaser  of 
pretended  titles  to  land. 

It  is  said,  we  know  not  how  truthfully,  that  the  last  time  M.  was  seen  in 
these  parts  was  at  Halifax  Court-house,  riding  at  full  speed  and  looking 
behind  him.  The  image  of  Mr.  Randolph  was  doubtless  more  indelibly 
impressed  upon  his  mind  than  that  of  any  other  object  on  earth,  and  re 
mained  the  dark  cloud  of  his  existence. 

This  is  the  way  Mr.  Randolph  resented  insults  from  nerveless  men. 
His  conduct  on  this  occasion  was  not  that  of  an  ordinary  man  with  strong 
feelings,  but  of  an  extraordinary  man,  arbitrary,  vindictive,  with  almost 
absolute  power  over  others,  yet  under  the  dominion  of  his  own  violent 
passions.  It  is  the  conduct  of  one  whose  heart  but  not  head  is  deranged. 

Are  we  wrong  in  saying  that  Mr.  Randolph  was  the  most  vindictive  man 
that  ever  lived  ?  For  a  remark,  which  was  not  intended  as  an  insult,  he 
humbled  his  victim  to  the  very  dust,  and  pronounced  a  judgment  upon 
him  more  terrible  and  speedy  in  its  effects  than  any  which  could  proceed 
from  a  court  of  justice.  We  have  no  doubt  that  the  reader  is  satisfied  with 
the  proof  which  we  have  adduced,  and  that  he  has  rendered  a  verdict  of 
guilty. 

Well  may  it  be  said  of  him,  that  he  did  things  which  nobody  else  could 
do,  and  made  others  do  things  which  they  never  did  before,  and  of  which 
they  repented  all  the  days  of  their  lives,  and  that,  on  some  occasions,  he 
was  totally  regardless  of  private  rights,  and  not  held  amenable  to  the  laws 
of  the  land. 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  131 


CHAPTER  IX. 

An  Amusing  Incident— Reception  at  a  Private  House — Could  not  have 
Written  Don  Juan. 

THE  following  little  incident  was  told  to  us  by  Honorable 
James  W.  Bouldin.  It  amused  us,  and  may  the  reader. 
He  says : 

Mr.  Randolph  once  rode  up  to  his  house,  saying  he  had 
lost  his  way.  (They  lived  about  fifteen  miles  apart.)  He 
dismounted,  and  made  himself  highly  entertaining.  Mr. 
Bouldin  says  he  knew  it  was  all  put  on  about  his  missing  his 
way,  and  he  determined  to  retaliate.  So  he  went  to  Mr. 
Randolph's  soon  afterward  and  inquired  for  the  overseen 
After  sitting  an  hour  or  two  in  'high  chat,  he  reminded  his 
host  of  the  object  of  his  visit.  Mr.  Randolph  caught  his 
meaning  in  an  instant.  Said  he,  pulling  out  his  watch :  "  If 
you  really  want  to  see  my  overseer,  he  may  be  found  at  this 
hour  in  a  certain  part  of  my  plantation,"  naming  it. 

"I  was  once  deputed,"  said  Mr.  Bouldin,  "to  ask  him  whe 
ther  we  ought  to  send  from  our  county  delegates  to  the 
Charlottesville  Convention  on  the  subject  of  internal  im 
provement." 

Said  he:  "Sir,  I  am  against  cabals  of  all  sorts.  As  to  in 
ternal  improvement  it  begins  here — striking  his  breast." 

Said  I :  "  How  do  you  account  for  wise  men  meeting  to 
deliberate  what  to  do  with  the  fund  for  internal  improve^ 
mentwhen  that  fund  has  no  money?" 

"Very  easily." 


132  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

"How,  sir?" 

"  They  are  not  wise  men." 

"The  Chief  Justice  was  there,  I  think,  with  many  other 
able  men — men  that  he  always  admitted  to  be  able." 

The  foregoing  little  incidents  were  thrown  in  without  any 
relation  to  the  remarks  which  follow. 

The  reader  can  but  remember  the  impression  made  upon 
him  from  reading  Mr.  "  Garland's  Life  of  John  Randolph" — 
how  the  latter  complained  of  the  want  of  society — how 
dreary  and  lonely  he  was  at  Roanoke. 

From  the  developments  already  made,  it  cannot  be  a  mat 
ter  of  surprise  that  he  had  very  few  visitors.  We  have 
heard,  and  we  believe  truly,  that  when  some  of  his  friends 
from  a  distance  designed  to  pay  him  a  visit,  they  would 
stop  at  a  neighbor's  house  to  find  beforehand  what  sort  of 
humor  Mr.  Randolph  was  in.  If  he  was  in  an  agreeable 
mood  they  paid  the  visit;  if  not,  they  returned  to  await  a 
more  favorable  frame  of  mind. 

He  visited  very  little  himself.  When  he  did  visit  his 
neighbors,  who  were  plain,  unpretending  people,  but  highly 
cultivated,  and  some  of  them  wealthy,  he  created  quite  a 
sensation.  He  was  helped  out  of  his  carriage,  escorted  into 
the  house,  and  the  whole  plantation  placed  at  his  command, 
from  the  services  of  the  landlord  to  those  of  the  humblest 
slave ;  from  the  bed-chamber  of  the  landlady  to  a  room  in 
the  garret.  He  has  been  known  to  accept  the  bed-chamber 
of  his  hostess  repeatedly.  Yet  he  never  regarded  the  in 
convenience  he  was  putting  people  to ;  seemed  to  think  it 
all  right  that  he  should  be  waited  upon  as  no  other  man  was, 
forsooth,  because  there  was  no  other  man  equal  to  him. 

And  this  reminds  us  of  a  very  interesting  scene  which  the 
late  Dr.  William  A.  Fuqua,  of  Charlotte  county,  described 
to  us. 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  133 

He  says  on  one  occasion  Mr.  Randolph  drove  up  in  his 
coach-and-four  to  the  house  of  his  friend  Mr.  A.,  on  his  way 
to  Buckingham.  He  was  attended  by  two  servants.  The 
most  unusual  attentions  were  paid  to  the  distinguished  guest. 
Such  a  brushing  of  rooms;  such  cooking  in  the  kitchen, 
and  stir  generally  among  all  on  the  plantation,  white  and 
black,  never  was  seen.  Nothing  could  be  clean  enough  for 
him;  nothing  too  good  for  him.  His  friends,  whom  he 
visited,  were  afraid  not  to  know  what  food  suited  his  fas 
tidious  taste.  Hence,  at  the  table  they  always  handed  him 
something  he  was  fond  of.  If  it  happened  to  be  fish,  the 
modest  hostess  was  overwhelmed  with  compliments,  and  he 
would  talk  about  fish  for  perhaps  a  half  an  hour. 

His  arrival  at  Mr.  A.'s  excited  the  curiosity  of  some  nice 
young  ladies,  residing  near  by,  to  see  the  strange  and  unac 
countable  man.  They  sent  over  to  know  if  Mr.  Randolph 
could  be  seen ;  the  host  sent  to  know  of  his  guest. 

After  spending  some  time  at  his  toilet,  and  when  every 
thing  was  ready  for  the  curtain  to  rise,  the  young  ladies  were 
ushered  in.  Mr.  Randolph  was  reclining  upon  a  sofa,  with 
his  head  leaning  upon  one  of  his  hands,  and  looking  as  if 
he  was  ready  to  expire.  He  showed  off  handsomely  before 
the  spectators.  His  polished  manners  and  fine  address 
charmed  them. 

But  before  the  performance  concluded,  he  said  something 
to  make  the  company  feel  that  they  were  "  handled."  He 
rang  the  changes  on  the  name  of  one  of  the  young  ladies  to 
her  great  embarrassment,  and  wound  up  by  telling  her  to 
tell  her  mother  to  change  her  name,  for  she  had  named  her 
after  "a  very  great  rascal."  But,  nevertheless,  the  young 
ladies  went  home  highly  gratified  at  having  seen  John  Ran 
dolph. 

Dr.  Joel  W.  Watkins  was  once  fox  hunting :  his  dogs  ran 


134  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

on  Mr.  Randolph's  plantation;  his  overseer  informed  him 
he  was  sorry  he  should  have  to  report  him,  his  orders  were 
imperative  from  Mr.  Randolph,  whose  land  was  posted. 
That  night  Mr.  Randolph  sent  a  servant  with  a  note,  saying 
he  did  not  post  his  land  against  gentlemen  who  rode  Roan- 
oke  horses,  but  against  those  who  rode  grass-g — ted  horses. 
His  (Dr.  W.'s)  horse  could  jump  over  any  fence  his  (Ran 
dolph's)  d — n  lazy  overseer  would  make. 

An  old  lady  who  resided  for  years  near  Mr.  Randolph's 
solitary  abode,  on  the  banks  of  the  Staunton,  informed  us 
that  she  was  one  day  sitting  alone  in  her  chamber,  when 
suddenly  appeared  before  her  a  woman  dressed  in  white  in 
the  dead  of  winter.  She  was  described  as  a  beautiful  crea 
ture,  but  she  had  lost  the  bloom  of  youth,  and  was  as  pale 
as  death  itself.  She  talked  about  her  lover.  She  said,  "he 
would  never  prove  false  to  his  plighted  faith;  Mr.  Randolph 
would  marry  her  yet." 

When  told  that  she  had  better  cease  to  think  of  him,  for 
that  he  would  never  marry  her,  "  Yes,  he  will,"  she  replied. 

She  talked  incessantly  of  him,  nor  could  she  be  induced 
to  believe  that  he  did  not  love  her.  Presently  there  came 
riding  by  a  young  gentleman  leading  a  horse  with  a  side 
saddle  on.  She  darted  out  of  the  house  and  asked  permis 
sion  to  ride  a  few  miles.  The  young  man  politely  gave  his 
consent;  but  what  was  his  astonishment  when  she  mounted 
astride  like  a  man  and'  rode  off.  Though  greatly  embar 
rassed,  he  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  escort  his  strange  com 
panion  to  the  end  of  her  journey. 

We  are  informed  by  the  same  truthful  lady  that  this  same 
strange  woman  occasionally  visited  Mr.  Randolph  from  time 
to  time  for  several  years.  There  was  no  doubt  upon  the 
mind  of  our  informant  that  Mr.  Randolph  was  greatly  an 
noyed  by  his  fair  visitor.  He  sometimes  rid  himself  of  her 


OF   JOHN   RANDOLPH.  135 

by  putting  her  on  a  horse  with  a  servant  to  escort  her,  and 
sending  her  away  in  that  manner. 

Had  the  poor  creature  lost  her  mind  ?  We  had  not  sup 
posed  that  any  woman  ever  loved  Mr.  Randolph  to  that 
extent.  An  old  lady  once  remarked  to  us  that  she  never 
heard  any  of  her  female  acquaintances  acknowledge  that 
she  aspired  to  the  hand  of  Mr.  Randolph,  or  speak  of  him 
in  the  light  of  a  beau.  The  thought  of  "catching"  him 
never  seemed  to  occur  to  them.  Nor  had  we  ever  asso 
ciated  Mr.  Randolph  in  our  mind  with  love  scrapes  and 
adventures  such  as  are  indulged  in  by  most  other  men. 
When  therefore  we  were  informed  that  a  young  lady  had 
fallen  desperately  in  love  with  him,  so  as  either  to  have 
dethroned  her  reason,  or  jriade  her  take  extraordinary 
means  of  counterfeiting  derangement,  in  order  to  procure 
an  interview  with  him,  we  were  surprised.  And  yet  there 
was  nothing  unnatural  about  the  story. 

Mr.  Baldwin  expresses  the  opinion  that  Mr.  Randolph 
might  have  been  the  author  of  Childe  Harold.  We  agree 
with  him.  But  brilliant  as  was  his  imagination  he  never 
could  have  written  Don  Juan.  There  are  thoughts  and 
scenes  described  in  that  poem  which  he  could  not  have 
painted,  because  he  had  no  conception  of  them.  The  plea 
sures  of  illicit  love  were  the  bane  of  Byron— Randolph 
never  knew  them.  The  love  of  the  one,  was  ardent,  pas 
sionate;  that  of  the  other,  pure,  Platonic.  How  could  he 
have  been  the  author  of  the  scene  commencing — 

*  "  Twas  on  the  sixth  of  June,  about  the  hour 

Of  half-past  six — perhaps  still  nearer  seven — 
When  Julia  sate  within  as  pretty  a  bower,"  &c. 

He  might  have  sung: — 


136  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

"Tis  sweet  to  hear 
At  midnight  on  the  blue  and  moonlit  deep 

The  song  and  oar  of  Adria's  gondolier 

By  distance  mellowed,  o'er  the  waters  sweep: 

'Tis  sweet  to  see  the  evening  star  appear; 
'Tis  sweet  to  listen  as  the  night  winds  creep 

From  leaf  to  leaf:  'tis  sweet  to  view  on  high 

The  rainbow,  based  on  ocean,  span  the  sky." 

All  this  he  had  doubtless  felt,  and  might  have  sung  as, 
well  as  Byron  himself.  But  how  could  he  have  concluded 
this  long  catalogue  with  the  following  outburst  of  feeling : 

"But  sweeter  still  than  this,  than  these,  than  all, 
Is  first  and  passionate  love." 

The  fair  and  fading  woman,  who  left  her  distant  home, 
and  wandered  in  the  dead  of  winter  in  search  of  her  lover, 
returned  from  the  shades  of  Roanoke  as  pure  and  undefiled 
as  she  came. 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  137 


CHAPTER  X. 

General  Wilkinson's  Challenge  to  Mr.  Randolph  to  Fight  a  Duel— Mr.. 
Randolph's  Reply — Duel  with  Clay. 

MR.  WILLIAM  TOWNES,  now  eighty-six  years  of 
age,  has  in  his  possession  a  scrap-book  of  Thomas 
Jefferson's,  purchased  at  his  sale  by  the  late  James  C. 
Bruce,  of  Halifax  county,  Virginia,  and  presented  to  him  by 
Mr.  Bruce,  in  which  there  is  a  letter  from  John  Randolph  to 
General  James  Wilkinson  of  the  United  States  army,  in 
reply  to  a  challenge  of  General  Wilkinson  to  fight  a  duel. 
As  we  have  never  seen  the  correspondence  in  print,  we  take 
pleasure  in  placing  it  before  the  public. 

In  a  letter  offering  us  a  copy  of  it,  dated  March  26,  1877,, 
Mr.  Townes  writes : 

"The  quarrel  between  General  Wilkinson  and  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  had  its  origin  in  the  grand  jury  room  at  Richmond 
•at  the  trial  of  Aaron  Burr.  Mr.  Randolph  was  foreman  of 
the  grand  jury  which  indicted  him.  Colonel  Henry  E. 
Coleman,  of  Halifax,  was  also  a  member  of  the  grand  jury, 
and  from  him  I  was  informed  of  the  particulars  shortly 
after  the  quarrel  took  place." 

Mr.  Randolph  believed  that  General  Wilkinson  was  im 
plicated  in  the  treason  of  Burr.  When  he,  Wilkinson, 
entered  the  grand  jury  room  as  a  witness,  he  was  in  full 
uniform  as  an  United  States  General,  with  his  side  arms. 
Mr.  Randolph  instantly  ordered  the  marshal  to  "disarm 
James  Wilkinson,"  not  even  giving  him  a  title,  which  the 


138  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

marshal  did ;  and  it  seemed  to  give  great  offence  to  General 
Wilkinson. 

The  following  correspondence  took  place  afterwards  in 
the  city  of  Washington : 

WASHINGTON,  Dec.  24th,  1807. 

SIR: — I  understand  several  expressions  have  escaped  you,  in  their 
nature  personal  and  highly  injurious  to  my  reputation.  The  exception 
able  language  imputed  to  you  may  be  briefly  and  substantially  comprised 
in  the  following  statements :  That  you  have  avowed  the  opinion  that  I 
was  a  rogue — that  you  have  ascribed  to  me  the  infernal  disposition  to 
commit  murder  to  prevent  the  exposition  of  my  sinister  designs,  and 
through  me  have  stigmatized  those  citizen  soldiers  who  compose  the 
military  corps  of  our  country.  No  person  can  be  more  sensible  of  the 
pernicious  tendency  of  such  cruel  and  undeserved  reflections  in  their 
application  to  public  men,  or  private  individuals  than  yourself;  nor  is  any 
man  more  competent  to  determine  the  just  reparation  to  which  they 
establish  a  fair  claim.  Under  these  impressions  I  have  no  hesitation  to 
appeal  to  your  justice,  your  magnanimity  and  your  gallantry,  to  prescribe 
the  manner  of  redress,  being  persuaded  your  decision  will  comport  with 
the  feelings  of  a  man  of  honor — that  you  will  be  found  equally  prompt 
to  assert  a  right  or  repair  a  wrong.  I  transmit  this  letter  through  the 
post-office,  and  shall  expect  your  answer  by  such  a  channel  as  you  may 

deem  proper. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

JAMES  WILKINSON. 
The  Hon.  JOHN  RANDOLPH. 

To  this  letter  Mr.  Randolph  replied  as  follows: 

DECEMBER  25'm,  18(07.     U 

SlR: — Several  months  ago  I  was  informed  of  your  having  said  that  you 
were  acquainted  with  what  had  passed  in  the  grand  jury  room  at  Rich 
mond  last  spring,  and  that  you  declared  a  determination  to  challenge  me. 
I  am  to  consider  your  letter  of  the  last  night  by  mail  as  the  execution  of 
that  avowed  purpose,  and  through  the  same  channel  I  return  you  my 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  139 

answer.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  expressions  used  by  me  in  regard 
to  your  character,  they  were  the  result  of  deliberate  opinion,  founded  on 
the  most  authoritative  evidence,  the  greater  part  of  which  my  country  im 
posed  upon  me,  to  weigh  and  decide  upon ;  they  were  such  as  to  my 
knowledge  and  to  yours  have  been  delivered  by  the  first^men  in  the  Union, 
and  probably  by  a  full  moiety  of  the  American  people. 

In  you,  sir,  I  recognize  no  right  to  hold  me  accountable  for  my  public 
or  private  opinion  of  your  character  that  would  not  subject  me  to  an  equal 
claim  from  Colonel  Burr  or  Sergeant  Dubbough.  I  cannot  descend  to 

your  level.     This  is  my  final  answer. 

JOHN  RANDOLPH. 
Brigadier  GENERAL  WILKINSON. 

Mr.  Randolph  did  not  decline  General  Wilkinson's  chal 
lenge  through  fear.  Mr.  Randolph  was  a  brave  man,  and 
had  already  shown  it  upon  the  field  of  honor  by  his  ex 
change  of  shots  with  Mr.  Taylor;  and  he  was  yet  to  prove 
it  upon  a  most  signal  occasion  in  his  duel  with  Henry  Clay. 

That  duel  was  fought  during  the  administration  of  Adams, 
and  while  he  was  United  States  senator.  Mr.  Randolph 
believed  every  word  of  the  story  of  Cremer,  and  it  was  the 
following  allusion  to  the  charge  of  bargain  and  corruption 
which  caused  the  challenge  of  Mr.  Clay:  "This  until  now 
unheard  of  combination  of  the  black-leg  with  the  Puritan  ; 
this  union  of  Black  George  with  Blifil"  (an  allusion  from 
Fielding's  novel  of  "Tom  Jones"). 

Referring  to  this,  Mr.  Parks  remarks:  "Languag'e  could 
not  have  been  made  more  offensive.  But  the  fruitful  imagi 
nation  of  Mr.  Randolph  was  not  exhausted,  and  he  pro 
ceeded  with  denunciation,  which  spared  not  the  venerable 
mother  of  Mr.  Clay,  then  living — denouncing  her  for  bring 
ing  into  the  world  '  this  being  so  brilliant,  yet  so  corrupt, 
which,  like  a  rotten  mackerel  by  moonlight,  shined  and 
,stunk.'" 

This  drew  from  Mr.  Clay  a  challenge,  and  a  meeting  was 


140  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

the  consequence.   We  purpose  to  give  Mr.  Benton's  account 
of  it,  which  Mr.  Clay  said  was  strictly  correct. 

Mr.  Benton  says : 

It  was  Saturday,  the  first  of  April,  towards  noon,  the  Senate  not  be 
ing  that  day  in  session,  that  Mr.  Randolph  came  to  my  room  at  Brown's 
hotel,  and  (without  explaining  the  reason  of  the  question)  asked  me  if  I 
was  a  blood-relation  of  Mr.  Clay?  I  answered  that  I  was;  and  he  imme 
diately  replied  that  that  put  an  end  to  a  request  which  he  had  wished  to 
make  of  me;  and  then  went  on  to  tell  me  that  he  had  just  received  a 
challenge  from  Mr.  Clay,  had  accepted  it,  was  ready  to  go  out,  and  would 
apply  to  Colonel  Tatnall  to  be  his  second.  Before  leaving,  he  told  me 
he  would  make  my  bosom  the  depository  of  a  secret  which  he  should 
commit  to  no  other  person :  it  was  that  he  did  not  intend  to  fire  at  Mr. 
Clay.  He  told  it  to  me  because  he  wanted  a  witness  of  his  intention,  and 
did  not  mean  to  tell  it  to  his  second  or  anybody  else;  and  enjoined  invio 
lable  secrecy  until  the  duel  was  over.  This  was  the  first  notice  I  had  of 
the  affair.  The  circumstances  of  the  delivery  of  the  challenge,  I  had  from 
General  Jesup,  Mr.  Clay's  second,  and  they  were  so  perfectly  character 
istic  of  Mr.  Randolph  that  I  give  them  in  detail,  and  in  the  General's  own 
words : 

"I  was  unable  to  see  Mr.  Randolph  until  the  morning  of  the  first  of 
April,  when  I  called  on  him  for  the  purpose  of  delivering  the  note.  Pre 
vious  to  presenting  it,  however,  I  thought  it  proper  to  ascertain  from  Mr. 
Randolph  himself,  whether  the  information  which  Mr.  Clay  had  received — 
that  he  considered  himself  personally  responsible  for  the  attack  on  him — 
was  correct.  I  accordingly  informed  Mr.  Randolph  that  I  was  the  bearer 
of  a  message  from  Mr.  Clay  in  consequence  of  an  attack  which  he  had 
made  upon  his  private  as  well  as  "public  character  in  the  Senate;  that  I 
was  aware  no  one  had  the  right  to  question  him  out  of  the  Senate  for  any 
thing  said  in  debate,  unless  he  chose  voluntarily  to  waive  his  privileges 
as  a  member  of  that  body.  Mr.  Randolph  replied,  that  the  constitution 
did  protect  him,  but  he  would  never  shield  himself  under  such  a  subter 
fuge  as  the  pleading  of  the  privilege  as  a  Senator  from  Virginia;  that  he 
did  hold  himself  accountable  to  Mr.  Clay;  but  he  said  that  gentleman 
had  first  two  pledges  to  redeem :  one  that  he  had  bound  himself  to  fight 
any  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  who  should  acknowledge 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  141 

himself  the  author  of  a  certain  publication  in  a  Philadelphia  paper;  and 
the  other,  that  he  stood  pledged  to  establish  certain  facts  in  regard  to  a 
great  man,  whom  he  would  not  name ;  but  he  added  he  could  receive  no 
verbal  message  from  Mr.  Clay — that  any  message  from  him  must  be  in 
writing.  I  replied  that  I  was  not  authorized  by  Mr.  Clay  to  enter  into  or 
receive  any  verbal  explanations — that  the  inquiries  I  had  made  were  for 
my  own  satisfaction  and  upon  my  own  responsibility — that  the  only  mes 
sage  of  which  I  was  the  bearer  was  in  writing.  I  then  presented  the  note 
and  remarked  that  I  knew  nothing  of  Mr.  Clay's  pledges:  but  that  if 
they  existed  as  he  (Mr.  Randolph)  understood  them,  and  he  was  aware  of 
them  when  he  made  the  attack  complained  of,  he  could  not  avail  himself 
of  them — that  by  making  the  attack  I  thought  he  had  waived  them  him 
self.  He  said  he  had  not  the  remotest  intention  of  taking  advantage  of 
the  pledges  referred  to;  that  he  had  mentioned  them  merely  to  remind 
me  that  he  was  waiving  his  privilege,  not  only  as  a  Senator  from  Virginia, 
but  as  a  private  gentleman;  that  he  was  ready  to  respond  to  Mr.  Clay, 
and  would  be  obliged  to  me  if  I  would  bear  his  note  in  reply;  and  that  he 
would  in  the  course  of  the  day  look  out  for  a  friend.  I  declined  being  the 
bearer  of  the  note,  but  informed  him  my  only  reason  for  declining  was 
that  I  thought  he  owed  it  to  himself  to  consult  his  friends  before  taking 
so  important  a  step.  He  seized  my  hand,  saying,  '  You  are  right,  sir.  I 
thank  you  for  the  suggestion ;  but  as  you  do  not  take  my  note,  you  must 
not  be  impatient  if  you  should  not  hear  from  me  to-day.  I  now  think  of 
only  two  friends,  and  there  are  circumstances  connected  with  one  of  them 
which  may  deprive  me  of  his  services,  and  the  other  is  in  bad  health — he 
was  sick  yesterday,  and  may  not  be  out  to-day.'  I  assured  him  that  any 
reasonable  time  which  he  might  find  necessary  to  take  would  be  satisfac 
tory.  I  took  leave  of  him ;  and  it  is  due  to  his  memory  to  say  that  his 
bearing  was,  throughout  the  interview,  that  of  a  high-toned,  chivalrous 
gentleman  of  the  old  school." 

These  were  the  circumstances  of  the  delivery  of  the  challenge,  and  the 
only  thing  necessary  to  give  them  their  character,  is  to  recollect  that  with 
this  prompt  acceptance  and  positive  refusal  to  explain,  and  this  extra  cut 
about  the  two  pledges,  there  was  a  perfect  determination  not  to  fire  at  Mr. 
Clay.  That  determination  rested  on  two  grounds:  first,  an  entire  unwil 
lingness  to  hurt  Mr.  Clay ;  and  next,  a  conviction  that  to  return  the  fire 
would  be  to  answer,  and  would  be  an  implied  acknowledgment  of  Mr. 
Clay's  right  to  make  him  answer.  This  he  would  not  do,  neither  by  im- 


142  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

plication  nor  in  words.  He  denied  the  right  of  any  person  to  question 
him  out  of  the  Senate  for  words  spoken  within  it.  He  took  a  distinction 
between  man  and  senator.  As  a  senator  he  had  a  constitutional  immu 
nity,  given  for  a  wise  purpose,  and  which  he  would  neither  surrender  nor 
compromise;  as  individual,  he  was  ready  to  give  satisfaction  for  what  was 
deemed  ah  injury.  He  would  receive,  but  not  return  a  fire.  It  was  as 
much  as  to  say,  Mr.  Clay  may  fire  at  me  for  what  has  offended  him ;  I  will 
not  by  returning  the  fire  admit  his  right  to  do  so.  This  was  a  subtle  dis 
tinction,  and  that  in  case  of  life  and  death,  and  not  very  clear  to  the  com 
mon  intellect;  but  to  Mr.  Randolph  both  clear  and  convincing.  His 
allusion  to  the  "  two  pledges  unredeemed,"  which  he  might  have  plead 
in  bar  to  Mr.  Clay's  challenge,  and  would  not,  was  another  sarcastic  cut 
at  Mr.  Adams  and  Mr.  Clay,  while  rendering  satisfaction  for  cuts  already 
given.  The  "member  of  the  House"  was  Mr.  George  Cremer,  of  Penn 
sylvania,  who,  at  the  time  of  the  Presidential  election  in  the  House  of 
Representative?,  had  avowed  himself  to  be  the  author  of  an  anonymous 
publication,  the  writer  of  which  Mr.  Clay  had  threatened  to  call  to  ac 
count  if  he  would  avojv  himself,  and  did  not.  The  "great  man"  was 
President  Adams,  with  whom  Mr.  Clay  had  had  a  newspaper  controversy, 
involving  a  question  of  fact,  which  had  been  postponed.  The  cause  of 
this  sarcastic  cut,  and  of  all  the  keen  personality  in  the  Panama  speech, 
was  the  belief  that  the  president  and  secretary,  the  latter  especially, 
encouraged  the  newspapers  in  their  interest  to  attack  him,  which  they  did 
incessantly,  and  he  chose  to  overlook  the  editors  and  retaliate  upon  the 
instigators,  as  he  believed  them  to  be.  This  he  did  to  his  heart's  content 
in  that  speech,  and  to  their  great  annoyance,  as  the  coming  of  the  chal 
lenge  proved.  The  "two  friends"  alluded  to  were  Colonel  Tatnall  and 
myself,  and  the  circumstances  which  might  disqualify  one  of  the  two  were 
those  of  my  relationship  to  Mrs.  Clay,  of  which  he  did  not  know  the 
degree,  and  whether  of  affinity  or  consanguinity — considering  the  first  no 
obstacle,  the  other  a  complete  bar  to  my  appearing  as  his  second — hold 
ing  as  he  did,  with  the  tenacity  of  an  Indian,  to  the  obligations  of  blood, 
and  laying  but  little  stress  on  marriage  connections.  His  affable  reception 
and  courteous  demeanor  to  General  Jesup  were,  according  to  his  own  high 
breeding,  and  the  decorum  which  belonged  to  such  occasions.  A  duel  in 
the  circle  to  which  he  belonged  was  "an  affair  of  honor,"  and  high 
honor,  according  to  its  code,  must  pervade  every  part  of  it.  General  Jesup 
had  come  upon  an  unplesant  business.  Mr.  Randolph  determined  to  put 


OF  JOHN    RANDOLPH.  14& 

him  at  his  ease,  and  did  it  so  effectually  as  to  charm  him  into  admiration. 
The  whole  plan  of  his  conduct,  down  to  contingent  details,  was  cast  in 
his  mind  instantly,  as  if  by  intuition,  and  never  departed  from.  The 
acceptance,  the  refusal  to  explain,  the  determination  not  to  fire,  the  first 
and  second  choice  of  a  friend,  and  the  circumstances  which  might  dis 
qualify  one  and  delay  the  other,  the  additional  cut,  and  the  resolve  to  fall, 
if  he  fell,  on  the  soil  of  Virginia,  was  all  to  his  mind  a  single  emanation^ 
the  flash  of  an  instant.  He  needed  no  consultations,  no  deliberation  to 
arrive  at  all  these  important  conclusions.  I  dwell  upon  these  small  cir 
cumstances,  because  they  are  characteristic,  and  show  the  man,  a  man 
who  belongs  to  history,  and  had  his  own  history,  and  should  'be  known  as 
he  was.  That  character  can  only  he  shown  in  his  own  conduct,  his  own 
words  and  acts;  and  the  duel  with  Mr.  Clay  illustrates  it  at  many  points. 
It  is  in  that  point  of  view  that  I  dwell  upon  circumstances  which  might 
seem  trivial,  but  which  are  not  so,  being  illustrative  of  character  and  sig 
nificant  to  their  smallest  particulars. 

The  acceptance  of  the  challenge  was  in  keeping  with  the  whole  pro 
ceeding — prompt  in  the  agreement  to  meet,  exact  in  protesting  against  the 
right  to  call  him  out,  clear  in  the  waiver  of  his  constitutional  privilege, 
brief  and  cogent  in  presenting  the  case  as  one  of  some  reprehension — the 
case  of  a  member  of  an  administration  challenging  a  senator  for  words 
spoken  in  debate  of  that  administration,  and  all  in  brief,  terse,  and  super 
latively  decorous  language.  It  runs  thus : 

"  Mr.  Randolph  accepts  the  challenge  of  Mr.  Clay.  At  the  same  time 
he  protests  against  the  right  of  any  minister  of  the  Executive  Govern 
ment  of  the  United  States  to  hold  him  responsible  for  words  spoken  in 
debate  as  a  senator  from  Virginia  in  crimination  of  such  minister,  or  the 
administration  under  which  he  shall  have  taken  office.  Colonel  Tatnall,. 
of  Georgia,  the  bearer  of  this  letter,  is  authorized  to  arrange  with  General 
Jesup  (the  bearer  of  Mr.  Clay's  challenge)  the  terms  of  the  meeting  to 
which  Mr.  Randolph  is  invited  by  that  note." 

The  protest  which  Mr.  Randolph  entered  against  the  right  of  Mr.  Clay 
to  challenge  him,  led  to  an  explanation  between  their  mutual  friends  on 
that  delicate  point — a  point  which  concerned  the  independence  of  debate,, 
the  privileges  of  the  Senate,  the  immunity  of  a  member,  and  the  sanctity 
of  the  constitution.  It  was  a  point  which  Mr.  Clay  felt;  and  the  expla 
nation  which  was  had  between  the  mutual  friends  presented  an  excuse,  if 
not  a  justification,  for  his  proceeding.  He  had  been  informed  that  Mr. 


144  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

Randolph,  in  his  speech,  had  avowed  his  responsibility  to  Mr.  Clay,  and 
waived  his  privilege — a  thing  which,  if  it  had  been  done,  would  have 
been  a  defiance,  and  stood  for  an  invitation  to  Mr.  Clay  to  send  a  chal 
lenge.  Mr.  Randolph,  through  Colonel  Tatnall,  disavowed  that  imputed 
avowal,  and  confined  his  waiver  of  privilege  to  the  time  of  the  delivery 
of  the  challenge,  and  in  answer  to  an  inquiry  before  it  was  delivered. 

The  following  are  the  communications  between  the  respective  seconds 
on  this  point : 

"In  regard  to  i\\e  protest  with  which  Mr.  Randolph's  note  concludes,  it 
is  due  to  Mr.  Clay  to  say  that  he  had  been  informed  Mr.  Randolph 
did,  and  would,  hold  himself  responsible  to  him  for  any  observations  he 
might  make  in  relation  to  him;  and  that  I  (General  Jesup)  distinctly  un 
derstood  from  Mr.  Randolph,  before  I  delivered  the  note  of  Mr.  Clay, 
that  he  waived  his  privilege  as  a  Senator." 

To  this  Colonel  Tatnall  replied : 

"As  this  expression  (did  and  would  hold  himself  responsible,  &c.)  may 
be  construed  to  mean  that  Mr.  Randolph  had  given  this  information  not 
only  before  called  upon,  but  in  such  a  manner  as  to  throw  out  to  Mr.  Clay 
something  like  an  invitation  to  make  such  a  call,  I  have,  on  the  part  of 
Mr.  Randolph,  to  disavow  any  disposition,  when  expressing  his  readiness 
to  waive  his  privilege  as  a  Senator  from  Virginia,  to  invite,  in  any  case,  a 
call  upon  him  for  personal  satisfaction.  The  concluding  paragraph  of 
your  note,  I  presume,  is  intended  to  show  merely  that  you  did  not  present 
a  note,  such  as  that  of  Mr.  Clay  to  Mr.  Randolph,  until  you  had  ascer 
tained  his  willingness  to  waive  his  privilege  as  a  senator.  This,  I  infer, 
as  it  was  in  your  recollection  that  the  expression  of  such  a  readiness  on 
the  part  of  Mr.  Randolph  was  in  reply  to  an  inquiry  on  that  point  made 
by  yourself." 

Thus  an  irritating  circumstance  in  the  affair  was  virtually  negatived, 
and  its  offensive  import  wholly  disavowed.  For  my  part,  I  do  not  believe 
that  Mr.  Randolph  used  such  language  in  his  speech.  I  have  no  recol 
lection  of  having  heard  it.  The  published  report  of  the  speech  as  taken 
down  by  the  reporters  and  not  revised  by  the  speaker,  contains  nothing 
of  it.  Such  gasconade  was  foreign  to  Mr.  Randolph's  character.  The 
occasion  was  not  one  in  which  these  sort  of  defiances  are  thrown  out, 
which  are  either  to  purchase  a  cheap  reputation  when  it  is  known  they 
will  be  despised,  or  to  get  an  advantage  in  extracting  a  challenge  when 
there  is  a  design  to  kill.  Mr.  Randolph  had  none  of  these  views  with  re- 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  145 

spect  to  Mr.  Clay.  He  had  no  desire  to  fight  him,  or  to  hurt  him,  or  to 
gain  cheap  character  by  appearing  to  bully  him.  He  was  above  all  that, 
and  had  settled  accounts  with  him  in  his  speech,  and  wanted  no  more.  I 
do  not  believe  it  was  said ;  but  there  was  a  part  of  the  speech  which  might 
have  received  a  wrong  application,  and  led  to  the  erroneous  report;  a  part 
which  applied' to  a  quoted  speech  in  Mr.  Adams's  Panama  message,  which 
he  condemned  and  denounced,  and  dared  the  President  and  his  friends  to 
defend.  His  words  were,  as  reported  unrevised:  "Here  I  plant  my  foot; 
here  I  fling  defiance  right  into  his  (the  President's)  teeth;  here  I  throw 
the  gauntlet  to  him  and  the  bravest  of  his  compeers  to  come  forward  and 
defend  these  lines,"  &c.  A  very  palpable  defiance  this,  but  very  different 
from  a  summons  to  personal  combat,  and  from  what  was  related  to  Mr. 
'Clay.  It  was  an  unfortunate  report,  doubtless  the  effect  of  indistinct  ap 
prehension,  and  the  more  to  be  regretted  as,  after  having  been  a  main 
cause  inducing  the  challenge,  the  disavowal  could  not  stop  it. 

Thus  the  argument  for  the  meeting  was  absolute,  and,  according  to  the 
expectation  of  the  principals,  the  meeting  itself  would  be  immediately, 
but  their  seconds,  from  the  most  laudable  feelings,  determined  to  delay  it, 
with  the  hope  to  prevent  it,  and  did  keep  it  off  a  week,  admitting  me  to  a 
participation  in  the  good  work,  as  being  already  privy  to  the  affair,  and 
friendly  to  both  parties.  The  challenge  stated  no  specific  ground  of 
offence,  specified  no  exceptionable  words.  It  was  peremptory  and  general 
for  an  "unprovoked  attack  on  his  (Mr.  Clay's)  character;"  and  it  dis 
pensed  with  explanations,  by  alleging  that  the  notoriety  and  indisputable 
existence  of  the  injury  superseded  the  necessity  for  them.  Of  course  this 
demand  was  bottomed  on  a  report  of  the  words  spoken — a  verbal  report, 
the  full  daily  publication  of  the  debates  having  not  then  begun — and  that 
verbal  report  was  of  a  character  greatly  to  exasperate  Mr.  Clay.  It  stated 
that  in  the  course  of  the  debate  Mr.  Randolph  said : 

"That  a  letter  from  General  Salazar,  the  Mexican  minister  at  Washing 
ton,  submitted  by  the  executive  to  the  Senate,  bore  the  ear-mark  of  having 
been  manufactured  or  forged  by  the  secretary  of  state,  and  denounced  the 
administration  as  a  corrupt  coalition  between  the  Puritan  and  black-leg ; 
and  added  at  the  same  time  that  he  (Mr.  Randolph)  held  himself  per 
sonally  responsible  for  all  that  he  had  said."  i 

This  was  the  report  to  Mr.  Clay,  and  upon  which  he  gave  the  absolute 
challenge,  and  received  the  absolute  acceptance,  which  shut  out  all  in 
quiry  between  the  principals  into  the  causes  of  the  quarrel.  The  seconds 


146  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

determined  to  open  it,  and  to  attempt  an  accommodation,  or  a  peaceable- 
determination  of  the  difficulty.  In  consequence,  General  Jesup  stated  the 
complaint  in  a  note  to  Colonel  Tatnall  thus : 

"The  injury  of  which  Mr.  Clay  complains  consists  in  this, that  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  has  charged  him  with  having  forged  or  manufactured  a  paper  con 
nected  with  the  Panama  mission ;  also,  that  he  has  applied  to  him  in 
debate  the  epithet  of  black-leg.  The  explanation  which  I  consider  neces 
sary  is,  that  Mr.  Randolph  declared  that  he  had  no  intention  of  charging 
Mr.  Clay,  either  in  his  public  or  private  capacity,  with  forging  or  falsify 
ing  any  paper,  or  misrepresenting  any  fact;  and  also  that  the  term  black 
leg  was  not  intended  to  apply  to  him." 

To  this  exposition  of  the  grounds  of  the  complaint  Colonel  Tatnall 
answered-: 

"  Mr.  Randolph  informs  me  that  the  words  used  by  him  in  debate  were 
as  follows :  '  That  I  thought  it  would  be  in  my  power  to  show  evidence, 
sufficiently  presumptive,  to  satisfy  a  Charlotte  (county)  jury  that  this  invi 
tation  was  manufactured  here — that  Salazar's  letter  struck  me  as  bearing 
a  strong  likeness  in  point  of  style  to  the  other  papers.  I  did  not  under 
take  to  prove  this,  but  expressed  my  suspicion  that  the  fact  was  so.  I 
applied  to  the  administration  the  epithet,  Puritanic,  diplomatic,  black- 
legged  administration.'  " 

In  this  answer  Mr.  Randolph  remained  upon  his  original  ground  of 
refusing  to  answer  out  of  the  Senate  for  words  spoken  within  it.  In  other 
respects  the  statement  of  the  words  actually  spoken  greatly  ameliorated 
the  offensive  report,  the  coarse  and  insulting  words,  "  forging  and  falsi 
fying,"  being  disavowed,  as  in  fact  they  were  not  used,  and  were  not  to 
be  found  in  the  published  report.  The  speech  was  a  bitter  philippic,  and 
intended  to  be  so,  taking  for  its  point  the  alleged  coalition  between  Mr.. 
Clay  and  Mr.  Adams  with  respect  to  the  election,  and  their  efforts  to  get 
up  a  question  contrary  to  our  policy  of  non-entanglement  with  foreign 
nations  in  sending  ministers  to  the  Congress  of  the  American  States  of 
Spanish  origin  at  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  I  heard  it  all,  and,  though 
sharp  and  cutting,  I  think  it  might  have  been  heard,  had  he  been  present, 
without  any  manifestation  of  resentment  by  Mr.  Clay.  The  part  which 
he  took  so  seriously  to  heart,  that  of  having  the  Panama  invitations  manu 
factured  in  his  office  was,  to  my  mind,  nothing  more  than  attributing  to 
him  a  diplomatic  superiority,  which  enabled  him  to  obtain  from  the  South 
American  ministers  the  invitations  that  he  wanted,  and  not  at  all  that  they- 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  147 

were  spurious  fabrications.  As  to  the  expression,  "black-leg  and  Puri 
tan"  it  was  merely  a  sarcasm  to  strike  by  antithesis,  and  which,  being 
without  foundation,  might  have  been  disregarded.  I  presented  these 
views  to  the  parties,  and  if  they  had  come  from  Mr.  Randolph  they  might 
have  been  sufficient,  but  he  was  inexorable,  and  would  not  authorize  a 
word  to  be  said  beyond  what  he  had  written. 

All  hope  of  accommodation  having  vanished,  the  seconds  proceeded  to 
arrange  for  the  duel.  The  afternoon  of  Saturday,  the  8th  of  April,  was 
fixed  upon  for  the  time;  the  right  bank  of  the  Potomac,  within  the  State 
of  Virginia,  above  the  Little  Falls  bridge,  was  the  place;  pistols,  the  wea 
pons;  distance,  ten  paces;  each  party  to  be  attended  by  two  seconds  and 
a  surgeon,  and  myself  at  liberty  to  attend  as  a  mutual  friend.  There  was 
to  be  no  practicing  with  pistols,  and  there  was  none;  and  the  words,, 
"one,"  "two,"  "three,"  "stop,"  after  the  word  "fire,"  were,  by  agreement 
between  the  seconds,  and  for  the  humane  purpose  of  reducing  the  result 
as  near  as  possible  to  chance,  to  be  given  out  in  quick  succession.  The 
Virginia  side  of  the  Potomac  was  taken  at  the  instance  of  Mr,  Randolph. 
He  went  out  as  a  Virginia  senator,  refusing  to  compromise  that  character, 
and,  if  he  fell  in  defence  of  its  rights,  Virginia  soil  was  to  him  the  chosen 
ground  to  receive  his  blood.  There  was  a  statute  of  the  State  against 
duelling  within  her  limits;  but,  as  he  merely  went  to  receive  a  fire,  with 
out  returning  it,  he  deemed  that  no  fighting,  and  consequently  no  breach 
of  the  statute.  This  reason  for  choosing  Virginia  could  only  be  explained 
to  me,  ?s  I  alone  was  the  depository  of  his  secret. 

The  week's  delay  which  the  seconds  had  contrived  was  about  expiring. 
It  was  Friday  evening,  or  rather  night,  when  I  went  to  see  Mr.  Clay  for 
the  last  time  before  the  duel.  There  had  been  some  alienation  between  us 
since  the  time  of  the  Presidential  election  in  the  House  of  Representa 
tives,  and  I  wished  to  give  evidence  that  there  was  nothing  personal  in  it. 
The  family  were  in  the  parlor — company  present — and  some  of  it  staid 
late.  The  youngest  child,  I  believe,  James,  went  to  sleep  on  the  sofa — a 
circumstance  which  availed  me  for  a  purpose  the  next  day.  Mrs.  Clay 
was,  as  always  since  the  death  of  her  daughter,  a  picture  of  desolation,  but 
calm  and  conversable,  and  without  the  slightest  apparent  consciousness  of 
the  impending  event.  When  all  were  gone,  and  she  had  also  left  the 
parlor,  I  did  what  I  came  for,  and  said  to  Mr.  Clay,  that,  notwithstanding 
our  late  political  differences,  my  personal  feelings  towards  him  were  the 
same  as  formerly,  and  that,  in  whatever  concerned  his  life  and  honor,  my 


148  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

best  wishes  were  with  him.  He  expressed  his  gratificaion  at  the  visit  and 
the  declaration,  and  said  it  was  what  he  would  have  expected  of  me.  We 
parted  at  midnight. 

Saturday,  the  8th  of  April,  the  day  for  the  duel,  had  come,  and  almost 
the  hour.  It  was  noon,  and  the  meeting  was  to  take  place  at  4^  o'clock. 
I  had  gone  to  see  Mr.  Randolph  before  the  hour,  and  for  a  purpose ;  and 
besides,  it  was  so  far  on  the  way,  as  he  lived  half-way  to  Georgetown,  and 
we  had  to  pass  through  that  place  to  cross  the  Potomac  into  Virginia  at 
the  Little  Falls  bridge.  I  had  heard  nothing  from  him  on  the  point  of 
not  returning  the  tire  since  the  first  communication  to  that  effect,  eight 
days  before.  I  had  no  reason  to  doubt  the  steadiness  of  his  determina 
tion,  but  felt  a  desire  to  have  fresh  assurance  of  it  after  so  many  days' 
delay,  and  so  near  approach  of  the  trying  moment.  I  knew  it  would 
not  do  to  ask  him  the  question — any  question  which  would  imply  a 
doubt  of  his  word.  His  sensitive  feelings  would  be  hurt  and  annoyed 
at  it.  So  I  fell  upon  a  scheme  to  get  at  the  inquiry  without  seeming 
to  make  it.  I  told  him  of  my  visit  to  Mr.  Clay  the  night  before — 
•of  the  late  sitting — the  child  asleep — the  unconscious  tranquility  of 
Mrs.  Clay;  and  added,  I  could  not  help  reflecting  how  different  all 
that  might  be  the  next  night.  He  understood  me  perfectly,  and  im 
mediately  said,  with  a  quietude  of  look  and  expression  which  seemed 
to  rebuke  an  unworthy  doubt,  "  I  shall  do  nothing  to  disturb  the 
sleep  of  the  child  or  the  repose  of  the  mother;"  and  went  on  with  his 
employment  (his  seconds  being  engaged  in  their  preparations  in  a  dif 
ferent  roomj,  which  was  making  codicils  to  his  will,  all  in  the  way  of 
remembrance  to  his  friends;  the  bequests  slight  in  value,  but  invaluable 
in  tenderness  of  feeling,  and  beauty  of  expression,  and  always  appropriate 
to  the  receiver.  To  Mr.  Macon  he  gave  some  English  shillings,  to  keep 
the  game  when  he  played  whist.  His  namesake,  John  Randolph  Bryan, 
then  at  school  in  Baltimore,  and  since  married  to  his  niece,  had  been  sent 
for  to  see  him,  but  sent  off  before  the  hour  of  going  out,  to  save  the  boy 
from  a  possible  shock  at  seeing  him  brought  back.  He  wanted  some 
gold — that  coin  not  being  then  in  circulation,  and  only  to  be  obtained  by 
favor  or  purchase — and  sent  his  faithful  man,  Johnny,  to  the  United  States 
Branch  Bank  to  get  a  few  pieces,  American  being  the  kind  asked  for. 
Johnny  returned  without  the  gold,  and  delivered  the  excuse  that  the  bank 
had  none.  Instantly  Mr.  Randolph's  clear  silver-toned  voice  was  heard 
above  its  natural  pitch,  exclaiming,  "Their  name  is  legion;  and  they  are 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  149 

liars  from  the  beginning.  Johnny,  bring  me  my  horse."  His  own  saddle 
horse  was  brought  him — for  he  never  rode  Johnny's,  nor  Johnny  his, 
though  both,  and  all  his  hundred  horses,  were  of  the  finest  English 
blood — and  rode  off  to  the  bank  down  Pennsylvania  avenue,  now  Corco 
ran  &  Riggs's — Johnny  following,  as  always,  forty  paces  behind.  Arrived 
at  the  bank,  this  scene,  according  to  my  informant,  took  place: 

Mr.  Randolph  asked  for  the  state  of  his  account,  was  shown  it,  and 
found  to  be  some  four  thousand  dollars  in  his  favor.  He  asked  for  it. 
The  teller  took  up  packages  of  bills,  and  civilly  asked  in  what  sized  notes 
he  would  have  it.  I  want  money,  said  Mr.  Randolph,  putting  emphasis 
on  the  word,  and  at  that  time  it  required  a  bold  man  to  intimate  that  United 
States  bank  notes  were  not  money.  The  teller  beginning  to  understand 
him,  and  willing  to  make  sure,  said  inquiringly,  you  want  silver?  I  want 
my  money  was  the  reply.  Then  the  teller,  lifting  boxes  to  the  counter, 
said  politely,  "  Have  you  a  cart,  Mr.  Randolph,  to  put  it  in?"  "That  is 
my  business,  sir,"  said  he.  By  that  time  the  attention  of  the  cashier  (Mr. 
Richard  Smith)  was  attracted  to  what  was  going  on,  who  came  up,  and 
understanding  the  question  and  its  cause,  told  Mr.  Randolph  "there  was 
a  mistake  in  the  answer  given  to  his  servant;  that  they  had  gold,  and  that 
he  should  have  what  he  wanted." 

In  fact  he  had  only  applied  for  a  few  pieces,  which  he  wanted  for  a 
special  purpose.  This  brought  about  a  compromise.  The  pieces  of  gold 
were  received,  the  cart  and  the  silver  dispensed  with;  but  the  account  in 
bank  was  closed,  and  a  check  taken  for  the  amount  on  New  York.  He 
returned  and  delivered  me  a  sealed  paper,  which  I  was  to  open  if  he  was 
killed — give  back  to  him  if  he  was  not;  also  an  open  slip,  which  I  was 
to  read  before  I  got  to  the  ground.  This  slip  was  a  request  to  feel  in  his 
left  breeches  pocket,  if  he  was  killed,  and  find  so  many  pieces  of  gold — I 
believe  nine — take  three  for  myself,  and  give  the  same  number  to  Tatnall 
and  Hamilton  each,  to  make  seals  to  wear  in  remembrance  of  him.  We 
were  all  three  at  Mr.  Randolph's  lodgings  then,  and  soon  set  out,  Mr. 
Randolph  and  his  seconds  in  a  carriage,  I  following  him  on  horseback. 

I  have  already  said  that  the  count  was  to  be  quick  after  giving  the  word 
fire,  and  for  a  reason  which  could  not  be  told  to  the  principals.  To  Mr. 
Randolph,  who  did  not  mean  to  fire,  and  who,  though  agreeing  to  be  shot 
at,  had  no  desire  to  be  hit,  this  rapidity  of  counting  out  the  time,  and 
quick  arrival  at  the  command  "stop,"  presented  no  objection.  With  Mr. 
Clay  it  was  different;  with  him  it  was  all  a  real  transaction,  and  gave 


150  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

rise  to  some  proposal  for  more  deliberateness  in  counting  off  the  time, 
which  being  communicated  to  Colonel  Tatnall,  and  by  him  to  Mr.  Ran 
dolph,  had  an  ill  effect  upon  his  feelings,  and  aided  by  an  untoward  acci 
dent  on  the  ground,  unsettled  for  a  moment  the  noble  determination  which 
he  had  formed  not  to  fire  at  Mr.  Clay.  I  now  give  the  words  of  General 
Jesup: 

"When  I  repeated  to  Mr.  Clay  the  'word'  in  the  manner  in  which  it 
would  be  given,  he  expressed  some  apprehension  that  as  he  was  not  ac 
customed  to  the  use, of  the  pistol,  he  might  not  be  able  to  fire  within  the 
time,  and  for  that  reason  alone  desired  that  it  might  be  prolonged.  I 
mentioned  to  Colonel  Tatnall  the  ,  desire  of  Mr.  Clay.  He  replied  :  '  If 
you  insist  upon  it  the  time  must  be  prolonged,  but  I  should  very  much 
regret  it.'  I  informed  him  that  I  did  not  insist  upon  prolonging  the  time, 
and  I  was  sure  Mr.  Clay  would  acquiesce.  The  original  agreement  was 
carried  out." 

I  knew  nothing  of  this  until  it  was  too  late  to  speak  with  the  seconds 
or  principals.  I  had  crossed  the  little  Falls  bridge  just  after  them,  and 
come  to  the  place  where  the  servants  and  carriages  had  stopped.  I  saw 
none  of  the  gentlemen,  and  supposed  they  had  all  gone  to  the  spot  where 
the  ground  was  being  marked  off,  but  on  speaking  to  Johnny,  Mr.  Ran 
dolph,  who  was  still  in  his  carriage,  and  heard  my  voice,  looked  out  from 
the  window,  and  said  to  me :  "  Colonel,  since  I  saw  you,  and  since  I  have 
been  in  this  carriage,  I  have  heard  something  which  may  make  me  change 
my  determination.  Colonel  Hamilton  will  give  you  a  note  which  will 
explain  it."  Colonel  Hamilton  was  then  in  the  carriage,  and  gave  me 
the  note,  in  the  course  of  the  evening,  of  which  Mr.  Randolph  spoke.  I 
readily  comprehended  that  this  possible  change  of  determination  related 
to  his  firing;  but  the  emphasis  with  which  he  pronounced  the  word 
"  may"  clearly  showed  that  his  mind  was  undecided,  and  left  it  doubtful 
whether  he  would  fire  or  not.  No  further  conversation  took  place  be 
tween  us;  the  preparation  for  the  duel  was  finished;  the  parties  went  to 
their  places ;  and  I  went  forward  to  a  piece  of  rising  ground,  from  which 
I  could  see  what  passed  and  hear  what  was  said.  The  faithful  Johnny 
followed  me  close,  speaking  not  a  word,  but  evincing  the  deepest  anxiety 
for  his  beloved  master.  The  place  was  a  thick  forest,  and  the  immediate 
spot  a  little  depression  or  basin,  in  which  the  parties  stood.  The  princi 
pals  saluted  each  other  courteously  as  they  took  their  stands.  Colonel 
Tatnall  had  won  the  choice  of  position,  which  gave  to  General  Jesup  the 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  151 

delivery  of  the  word.  They  stood  on  a  line  east  and  west,  a  small  stump 
just  behind  Mr.  Clay;  a  low  gravelly  bank  rose  just  behind  Mr.  Ran 
dolph.  This  latter  asked  General  Jesup  to  repeat  the  word  as  he  would 
give  it;  while  in  the  act  of  doing  so,  and  Mr.  Randolph  adjusting  the  butt 
of  his  pistol  to  his  hand,  the  muzzle  pointing  downwards,  and  almost  to 
the  ground,  it  fired.  Instantly  Mr.  Randolph  turned  to  Colonel  Tatnall 
and  said:  "I  protested  against  that  hair  trigger."  Colonel  Tatnall  took 
blame  to  himself  for  having  sprung  the  hair.  Mr.  Clay  had  not  then 
received  his  pistol.  Senator  Johnson,  of  Louisiana  (Josiah),  one  of  his 
seconds,  was  carrying  it  to  him,  and  still  several  steps  from  him.  This 
untimely  fire,  though  clearly  an  accident,  necessarily  gave  rise  to  some 
remarks  and  a  species  of  inquiry,  which  was  conducted  with  the  utmost 
delicacy,  but  which  in  itself  was  of  a  nature  to  be  inexpressibly  painful 
to  a  gentleman's  feelings.  Mr.  Clay  stopped  it,  with  the  generous  remark 
that  the  fire  was  clearly  an  accident,  and  it  was  so  unanimously  declared. 
Another  pistol  was  immediately  furnished,  and  an  exchange  of  shots  took 
place,  and  happily  without  effect  upon  the  persons.  Mr.  Randolph's  bul 
let  struck  the  stump  behind  Mr.  Clay,  and  Mr.  Clay's  knocked  up  the 
earth  and  gravel  behind  Mr.  Randolph,  and  in  a  line  with  the  level  of  his 
hips,  both  bullets  having  gone  so  true  and  close,  that  it  was  a  marvel  how 
they  missed.  The  moment  had  come  for  me  to  interpose.  I  went  in 
among  the  parties  and  offered  my  mediation,  but  nothing  could  be  done. 
Mr.  Clay  said,  with  the  wave  of  the  hand,  with  which  he  was  accustomed 
to  put  away  a  trifle,  "This  is  child's  play,"  and  required  another  fire. 
Mr.  Randolph  also  demanded  another,  fire.  The  seconds  were  directed  to 
reload.  While  this  was  going  on  I  prevailed  on  Mr.  Randolph  to  walk 
away  from  his  post,  and  renewed  to  him,  more  pressingly  than  ever,  my 
importunities  to  yield  to  some  accommodation,  but  I  found  him  more 
determined  than  I  had  ever  seen  him,  and  for  the  first  time  impatient, 
and  seemingly  annoyed  and  dissatisfied  at  what  I  was  doing.  He  was 
indeed  annoyed  and  dissatisfied.  The  accidental  fire  of  his  pistol  preyed 
upon  his  feelings.  He  was  doubly  chagrined  at  it,  both  as  a  circumstance 
susceptible  in  itself  of  an  unfair  interpretation,  and  as  having  been  the 
immediate  and  controlling  cause  of  his  firing  at  Mr.  Clay.  He  regretted 
this  fire  the  instant  it  was  over.  He  felt  that  it  had  subjected  him  to  im 
putations,  from  which  he  knew  himself  to  be  free — a  desire  to  kill  Mr. 
Clay,  and  a  contempt  for  the  laws  of  his  beloved  state,  and  the  annoy- 


152  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

ances  which  he  felt  at  these  vexatious  circumstances,  revived  his  original 
determination,  and  decided  him  irrevocably  to  carry  it  out. 

It  was  in  this  interval  that  he  told  me  what  he  had  heard  since  we 
parted,  and  to  which  he  alluded  when  he  spoke  to  me  from  the  win 
dow  of  the  carriage.  It  was  to  this  effect:  That  he  had  been  informed 
by  Colonel  Tatnall  that  it  was  proposed  to  give  out  the  words  with  more 
deliberateness,  so  as  to  prolong  the  time  for  taking  aim.  This  informa 
tion  grated  harshly  upon  his  feelings.  It  unsettled  his  purpose,  and 
brought  his  mind  to  the  inquiry  (as  he  now  told  me,  and  I  found  it  ex 
pressed  in  the  note  which  he  had  immediately  written  in  pencil  to  apprise 
me  of  his  possible  change,)  whether,  under  these  circumstances,  he  might 
not  "disable  his  adversary."  This  note  is  so  characteristic,  and  such  an 
essential  part  of  this  affair,  that  I  here  give  its  very  words,  so  far  as  relates 
to  this  point.  It  ran  thus  : 

"Information  received  from  Colonel  Tatnall  since  I  got  into  the  car 
riage  may  induce  me  to  change  my  mind,  of  not  returning  Mr.  Clay's  fire. 
I  seek  not  his  death.  I  would  not  have  his  blood  upon  my  hands — it  will 
not  be  upon  my  soul  if  I  shed  it  in  self-defence — for  the  world.  He  has 
determined,  by  the  use  of  a  long,  preparatory  caution  by  words,  to  get 
time  to  kill  me.  May  I  not,  then,  disable  him?  Yes,  if  I  please." 

It  has  been  seen,  by  the  statement  of  General  Jesup,  already  given,  that 
this  information  was  a  misapprehension ;  that  Mr.  Clay  had  not  applied 
for  a  prolongation  of  time  for  the  purpose  of  getting  sure  aim,  but  only  to 
enable  his  unused  hand,  long  unfamiliar  with  the  pistol,  to  fire  within  the 
limited  time;  that  there  was  no  prolongation,  in  fact,  either  granted  or 
insisted  upon ;  but  he  was  in  doubt,  and  General  Jesup  having  won  the 
word,  he  was  having  him  repeat  it  in  the  way  he  was  to  give  it  out,  when 
his  finger  touched  the  hair-trigger.  How  unfortunate  that  I  did  not  know 
of  this  in  time  to  speak  to  General  Jesup,  when  one  word  from  him  would 
have  set  all  right,  and  saved  the  imminent  risks  incurred.  This  inquiry, 
"May  I  not  disable  him?"  was  still  on  Mr.  Randolph's  mind,  and  de 
pendent  for  its  solution  on  the  rising  incidents  of  the  moment,  when  the 
accidental  fire  of  his  pistol  gave  the  turn  to  his  feelings  which  solved  the 
doubt.  But  he  declared  to  me  that  he  had  not  aimed  at  the  life  of  Mr. 
Clay;  that  he  did  not  level  as  high  as  his  .knees — not  higher  than  the 
knee-band;  "for  it  was  no  mercy  to  shoot  a  man  in  the  knee,"  that  his 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  153 

only  object  was  to  disable  him  and  spoil  his  aim.  And  then  added,  with 
a  beauty  of  expression  and  a  depth  of  feeling  which  no  studied  oratory 
can  ever  attain,  and  which  I  shall  never  forget,  these  impressive  words : 
"I  would  not  have  seen  him  fall  mortally,  or  even  doubtfully,  wounded, 
for  all  the  land  that  is  watered  by  the  King  of  Floods  and  all  his  tributary 
streams.'1''  He  left  me  to  resume  his  post,  utterly  refusing  to  explain  out 
of  the  Senate  anything  that  he  had  said  in  it,  and  with  the  positive  decla 
ration  that  he  would  not  return  the  next  fire.  I  withdrew  a  little  way  into 
the  woods,  and  kept  my  eyes  fixed  on  Mr.  Randolph,  whom  I  knew  to  be 
the  only  one  in  danger.  I  saw  him  receive  the  fire  of  Mr.  Clay,  saw  the 
gravel  knocked  up  in  the  same  place,  saw  Mr.  Randolph  raise  his  pistol — 
discharge  it  in  the  air;  heard  him  say,  "I  do  not  fire  at  you,  Mr.  Clay;" 
and  immediately  advancing  and  offering  his  hand.  He  was  met  in  the 
same  spirit.  They  met  half-way,  shook  hands,  Mr.  Randolph  saying,, 
jocosely,  "  You  owe  me  a  coat,  Mr.  Clay"  (the  bullet  had  passed  through 
the  skirt  of  the  coat,  very  near  the  hip) — to  which  Mr.  Clay  promptly  and 
happily  replied,  "I  am  glad  the  debt  is  no  greater." '. 

I  had  come  up,  and  was  prompt  to  proclaim  what  I  had  been  obliged  to 
keep  secret  for  eight  days.  The  joy  of  all  was  extreme  at  this  happy  ter 
mination  of  a  most  critical  affair,  and  we  immediately  left  with  lighter 
hearts  than  we  brought.  I  stopped  to  sup  with  Mr.  Randolph  and  his 
friends — none  of  us  wanted  dinner  that  day — and  had  a  characteristic 
time  of  it.  A  runner  came  in  from  the  bank  to  say  that  they  had  over 
paid  him  by  mistake  one  hundred  and  thirty  dollars  that  day.  He  an 
swered  :  "  /  believe  it  is  your  ride  not  to  correct  mistakes  except  at  the 
time,  and  at  your  counter.'11  And  with  that  answer  ,the  runner  had  to 
return.  When  gone,  Mr.  Randolph  said:  " 2 'will  pay  it  on  Monday: 
people  must  be  honest  if  banks  are  not.'1''  He  asked  for  the  sealed  paper 
he  had  given  me,  opened  it,  took  out  a  check  for  one  thousand  dollars, 
drawn  in  my  favor,  and  with  which  I  was  requested  to  have  him  carried 
if  killed  to  Virginia,  and  buried  under  his  patrimonial  oaks — not  let  him 
be  buried  at  Washington,  with  an  hundred  hacks  after  him.  He  took  the 
gold  from  his  left  breeches  pocket,  and  said  to  us  (Hamilton,  Tatnall  and 
me) :  "  Gentlemen,  Clay's  bad  shooting  shan't  rob  you  of  your  seals.  I 
am  going  to  London,  and  will  have  them  made  for  you,"  which  he  did, 
and  most  characteristically,  so  far  as  mine  was  concerned.  He  went  to 
the  herald's  office  in  London  and  inquired  for  the  Benton  family,  of  which 
I  had  often  told  him  there  was  none,  as  we  only  dated  on  that  side  from 


154  HOME     REMINISCENCES 

my  grandfather  in  North  Carolina.  But  the  name  was  found,  and  with  it 
a  coat  of  arms — among  the  quarterings  a  lion  rampant.  That  is  the 
family,  said  he;  and  had  the  arms  engraved  on  the  seal,  the  same  which 
I  have  since  habitually  worn;  and  added  the  motto:  Factis  non  verbis, 
of  which  he  was  afterwards  accustomed  to  say  the  non  should  be  changed 
into  et.  But  enough.  I  run  into  these  details,  not  merely  to  relate  an 
event,  but  to  show  character,  and  if  I  have  not  done  it,  it  is  not  for  want 
of  material,  but  of  ability  to  use  it. 

On  Monday  the  parties  exchanged  cards,  and  social  relations  were  for 
mally  and  courteously  restored.  It  was  about  the  last  high-toned  duel 
that  I  have  witnessed,  and  among  the  highest  toned  that  I  have  ever 
witnessed,  and  so  happily  conducted  to  a  fortunate  issue — a  result  due 
to  the  noble  character  of  the  seconds  as  well  as  to  the  generous  and 
heroic  spirit  of  the  principals.  Certainly  duelling  is  bad,  and  has  been 
put  down,  but  not  quite  so  bad  as  its  substitute — revolvers,  bowie-knives, 
blackguardmg,  and  street-assassinations  under  the  pretext  of  self-defence. 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  155 


CHAPTER  XL 

MISSION   TO    RUSSIA. 

A   MONG  the  papers  of  the  late  William  M.  Watkins,  of 
J~\  Charlotte  county,   Virginia,  was    found   the  following 
correspondence : 

JUNE  2nd,  1830. 
MY  DEAR  MR.  RANDOLPH  : 

Infirm  as  your  health  is,  your  country  has 

made  another  call  upon  you  for  your  services.  I  have  no  right  to  ask, 
nor  do  I  enquire  whether  you  will  accept  of  this  highly  honorable  ap 
pointment.  As  a  friend  I  have  a  right  to  say  your  country  has  no  further 
claims  upon  you,  and  that  you  ought  to  consult  your  own  comfort  and 
happiness. 

Should  you  accept  the  appointment,  a  long  (tho'  I  trust  not  a  final) 
separation  must  take  place  between  us.  My  heart  is  too  full  to  allow 
me  to  express  my  feelings,  when  I  think  of  it,  as  I  do  now  think  of  it. 

Remember  that  in  whatever  situation  you  may  be  placed,  I  am  your 

friend. 

W.  M.  WATKINS. 

The  following  is  Mr.  Randolph's  reply: 

ROANOKE,  June  2nd,  1830. 

I  cannot  express  to  you  how  deeply  I  am  penetrated  by  your  note 
which  Peyton  has  this  moment  handed  to  me. 

I  have  accepted  the  appointment  in  consequence  of  the  manner  in 
which  it  has  been  offered  to  me.  Come  and  see  me  and  I  shall  take 
pleasure  in  showing  you  the  correspondence — that  is,  the  letter  of  the 
P.  and  my  reply. 

Though  "seas  between  us  broad  may  roll,"  I  too  shall  not  be  unmind- 


156  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

ful  of  "  auld  lang  syne,"  and  under  every  change  of  time  and  circum 
stance  shall  remain  as  I  am,  most  truly  your  friend. 

J.  R.,  of  Roanoke. 
To  W.  M.  W.,  Esq. 

The  allusion  is  to  Mr.  Randolph's  acceptance  of  the  mis 
sion  to  the  Court  of  St.  Petersburg.  The  following  is  the 
letter  of  the  President  offering  him  the  post : 

WASHINGTON,  Sept.  16,  1829. 

DEAR  Sir: — The  office  of  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipo 
tentiary  to  Russia  will  soon  become  vacant,  and  I  am  anxious  that  the 
place  should  be  filled  by  one  of  the  most  capable  and  distinguished 
of  our  fellow-citizens. 

The  great  and  rapidly  increasing  influence  of  Russia  in  the  affairs  of 
the  world,  renders  it  very  important  that  our  representative  at  that  court 
should  be  one  of  the  highest  respectability;  and  the  expediency  of  such 
a  course  at  the  present  moment  is  greatly  increased  by  circumstances  of  a 
special  character.  Among  the  number  of  our  statesmen  from  whom  the 
selection  might  with  propriety  be  made,  I  do  not  know  one  better  fitted 
for  the  station,  on  the  score  of  talents  and  experience  in  public  affairs,  or 
possessing  stronger  claims  upon  the  favorable  consideration  of  his  country 
than  youiself.  Thus  impressed,  and  entertaining  a  deep  and  grateful 
sense  of  your  long  and  unceasing  devotion  to  sound  principles,  and  the 
interest  of  the  people,  I  feel  it  a  duty  to  offer  the  appointment  to  you. 

In  discharging  this  office  I  have  the  double  satisfaction  of  seeking  to 
promote  the  public  interest,  whilst  peforming  an  act  most  gratifying  to 
myself,  on  account  of  the  personal  respect  and  esteem  which  I  have  al 
ways  felt  and  cherished  towards  you. 

It  is  not  foreseen  that  any  indulgence  as  to  the  period  of  your  de 
parture,  which  will  be  required  by  a  due  regard  to  your  private  affairs, 
will  conflict  with  the  interests  of  the  mission  :  and  I  sincerely  hope  that 
no  adverse  circumstances  may  exist,  sufficient  to  deprive  the  country  of 
your  services. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect, 

Your  most  ob't  serv't, 

ANDREW  JACKSON. 
The  Hon.  JOHN  RANDOLPH,  of  Roanoke. 


OF   JOHN   RANDOLPH.  157 

The  following  is  Mr.  Randolph's  reply: 

ROANOKE,  Sept.  24,  1829. 

SIR  : — By  the  last  mail  I  received,  under  Mr.  Van  Buren's  cover,  your 
letter,  submitting  to  my  acceptance  the  mission  to  Russia. 

This  honor,  as  unexpected  as  it  was  unsought  for,  is  very  much  en 
hanced  in  my  estimation  by  the  very  timid  and  flattering  terms  in  which 
you  have  been  pleased  to  couch  the  offer  of  the  appointment.  May  I  be 
pardoned  for  saying,  that  the  manner  in  which  it  has  been  conveyed, 
could  alone  have  overcome  the  reluctance  that  I  feel  at  the  thoughts  of 
leaving  private  life  and  again  embarking  on  the  stormy  sea  of  Federal 
politics.  This  I  hope  I  may  do  without  any  impeachment  of  my  pa 
triotism,  since  it  shall  in  no  wise  diminish  my  exertions  to  serve  our 
-country  in  the  station  to  which  I  have  been  called  by  her  chief  magis 
trate,  and  under  these  "  circumstances  of  a  special  character,"  indicated 
by  your  letter.  The  personal  good  opinion  and  regard,  which  you  kindly 
express  towards  me,  merit  and  receive  my  warmest  acknowledgments. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  respect,  sir,  your  most  obedient 
and  faithful  servant, 

JOHN  RANDOLPH,  of  Roanoke. 

To  ANDREW  JACKSON,  Esq  ,  President  of  the  U.  S. 

He  had  not  been  in  St.  Petersburg  a  week  before  he  left 
for  London.  In  the  last  speech  which  he  made  to  the  peo 
ple  of  Charlotte,  and  which  the  reader  will  find  reported  in 
another  chapter,  he  states  his  reasons  for  taking  that  step, 
which  appear  to  us  to  be  most  excellent;  the  only  wonder  is, 
that  he  accepted  the  mission  when  he  must  have  known  that 
neither  the  duties  of  the  office  nor  the  climate  of  Russia 
would  suit  him. 

Mr.  Garland  excuses  him.  "In  accepting  this  appoint 
ment,"  he  remarks,  "  he  only  carried  out  his  original  design 
of  going  abroad  in  search  of  health,  while  at  the  same  time 
he  served  his  country  in  a  station  pressed  upon  him  as  an 
evidence  to  foreigners  of  her  distinguished  regard."  But  Mr. 
Baldwin  is  very  severe  upon  him.  He  says,  he  was  physi- 


158  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

cally  unfit  for  the  duties  of  the  post;  and  besides,  "he  had 
won  his  influence  as  the  great  champion  of  the  states  by 
never  taking  pay  or  holding  office  from  the  Federal  govern 
ment." 

In  his  speech  on  retrenchment  and  reform,  delivered  iir 
the  House  of  Representatives  in  1828,  he  said:  "I  shall 
retire  upon  my  resources;  I  will 'go  back  to  the  bosom  of 
my  constituents — to  such  constituents  as  man  never  had 
before,  and  never  will  have  again ;  and  I  shall  receive  from 
them  the  only  reward  I  ever  looked  for,  but  the  highest  that 
man  can  receive — the  universal  expression  of  their  appro 
bation,  of  their  thanks.  I  shall  read  it  in  their  beaming 
faces,  I  shall  feel  it  in  their  gratulating  hands.  The  very 
children  will  climb  around  my  knees  to  welcome  me.  And 
shall  I  give  up  them  and  this?  And  for  what?  For  the 
heartless  amusements  and  vapid  pleasures  and  tarnished 
honors  of  this  abode  of  splendid  misery,  of  shabby  splen 
dor,  for  a  clerkship  in  the  war  office,  or  a  foreign  mission, 
to  dance  attendance  abroad  instead  of  at  home,  or  even  for 
a  department  itself?" 

Who  would  believe  that  in  one  year  seven  months  and 
twenty-three  days  from  the  time  that  he  said  this,  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  would  have  accepted  a  foreign  mission  to  any  coun 
try,  least  of  all  to  Russia? 

It  was  well  known  to  his  constituents  that  until  he  received 
this  appointment  he  was  exceedingly  hard  pressed  for  the 
means  to  meet  his  engagements.  It  was  also  known  that  in 
the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  became  exceedingly  fond  of 
money.  The  presumption,  therefore,  is  strong,  that  he 
accepted  the  appointment  for  the  pay.  We  have  it  from  an 
official  source  that  he  received  pay  as  minister  to  Russia 
from  June  gih,  1830,  to  July  iyth,  1831,  at  the  rate  of  nine 
thousand  dollars  per  annum  (nine  thousand,  nine  hundred 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  159 

and  fifty-seven  dollars  and  seventy-one  cents),  and  in  addi 
tion  thereto  was  granted  the  usual  allowance  of  nine  thou 
sand  dollars  for  an  outfit  and  two  thousand  two  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  for  expenses  in  returning  to  his  home. 

It  mars  the  symmetry  of  a  beautiful  political  character; 
but  we  feel  bound  to  state  the  facts  as  they  were  given  to  us 
by  those  who  knew  him,  and  to  draw  such  conclusions  as 
may  seem  to  us  reasonable  and  just. 

But,  notwithstanding  the  great  blemish  of  his  acceptance 
of  the  mission  to  Russia,  Mr.  Randolph  may  be  regarded 
as  the  most  consistent  statesman  which  this  country  has. 
ever  produced. 


160  HOME    REMINISCENCES 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Reminiscence  by  W.  M.  Moseley,  Esq.— Mr.  Randolph's  Treatment  of  a 
Certain  Young  Politician  of  Buckingham. — Happy  Retorts. 

FOR  the  following  sketch  we  are  indebted  to  Mr.  Wil 
liam  M.  Mosely,  now  of  Danville,  but  who  was  an  eye 
witness  of  the  scene  described,  and  at  the  time  an  in 
fluential  citizen  of  Buckingham.     Mr.  Moseley  gives  us  an 
illustration  of  the  merciless  manner  in  which  Mr.  Randolph 
dealt  with  his  opponents  and  the  supreme  contempt  which 
he  was  capable  of  expressing. 
He  says: 

The  last  public  speech  of  Mr.  Randolph  was  delivered  at  Buckingham 
Court-house  in  the  year  1833,  he  then  being  on  his  way  to  Philadelphia 
where  he  died  shortly  after.  He  was  travelling  by  private  conveyance, 
accompanied  by  his  two  favorite  servants,  Juba  and  John.  His  expected 
arrival  had  been  previously  announced,  and  it  being  the  regular  monthly 
term  of  the  county  court,  as  might  have  been  expected,  the  attendance 
was  unusually  large,  most  of  the  old  citizens  of  the  county  being  prompted 
by  a  desire  to  see  their  former  representative  in  Congress  once  more,  and 
to  hear  him  speak,  perhaps,  for  the  last  time.  Those  who  had  never  seen 
him,  but  who  had  heard  of  his  reputation  as  a  speaker,  determined  to 
avail  themselves  of  this  opportunity  of  seeing  and  hearing  one  of  whom 
so  much  had  been  said. 

He  reached  the  village  at  about  eleven  o'clock  A.  M.,  by  which  time  a 
large  concourse  of  people  had  assembled  upon  the  court  yard,  and  along 
the  principal  street,  all  anxiously  looking  for  the  arrival  of  this  distin 
guished  personage;  and  when  his  carriage  stopped  in  front  of  the  hotel, 
•it  was  immediately  surrounded  by  a  dense  crowd — a  proceeding  by  which 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  161 

Mr.  Randolph,  in  his  weak  and  nervous  condition,  seemed  to  be  greatly 
annoyed.  This  was  clearly  evinced  by  his  abrupt  command  to  his  servant 
who  was  in  the  act  of  opening  the  door  of  the  carriage,  to  let  it  remain 
closed  until  the  crowd  should  retire;  adding  that  he  was  no  wild  beast 
intended  for  public  exhibition.  The  crowd,  after  some  hesitation,  retired 
to  a  respectful  distance,  whereupon,  the  door  of  the  carriage  was  opened, 
and  he  descended  with  much  difficulty  by  the  assistance  of  his  servants. 
He  was  immediately  conducted  to  the  court-house  and  occupied  the 
judge's  seat,  from  which,  in  a  sitting  posture,  after  the  large  court-room 
had  become  filled  to  its  utmost  capacity,  he  proceeded  to  deliver  a  speech^ 
in  the  making  of  which  he  seemed  to  have  had  no  special  object  other 
than  that  of  giving  his  opinion  as  to  matters  and  things  in  general.  Pub 
lic  men  and  public  measures  of  the  past  as  well  as  of  the  present  seemed 
to  be  passing  in  review  before  him,  and  for  each  of  whom  he  seemed  to 
have  some  unkind  remembrance.  His  whole  speech,  if  such  it  might  be 
called,  evinced  an  unhappy  state  of  mind,  if  not  a  disordered  intellect. 
No  class  and  no  profession  escaped  his  bitter  invective  and  withering  sar 
casm.  Nothing  either  in  church  or  state  seemed  to  be  progressing  accord 
ing  to  his  liking. 

At  the  close  of  his  disconnected  harangue  but  few  even  of  his  old 
constituents  ventured  to  approach  him  with  anything  like  familiarity,  not 
knowing  how  such  advances  might  be  received.  Among  the  vast  assem 
blage  there  was  but  one  individual  who  seemed  willing  to  court  his  espe 
cial  attention.  This  was  a  young  lawyer  of  much  self-importance  who 
had  shortly  before  been  elected  to  a  seat  in  the  state  legislature,  where  he 
had  gained  some  notoriety  by  a  speech  he  made  in  advocacy  of  the  abolition 
of  slavery,  in  the  course  of  which  he  took  occasion  to  make  some  very 
severe  strictures  upon  Mr.  Randolph  as  a  cruel  slaveholder.  This  course 
on  the  part  of  this  young  delegate  had  not  met  with  the  approval  of  his 
constituents,  as  had  been  evinced  by  their  refusal  to  reelect  him.  He  took 
this  occasion  to  set  himself  right  before  the  people,  by  publicly  acknow 
ledging  his  political  errors,  and  apologizing  to  Mr.  Randolph  for  the 
supposed  injuries  he  had  done  him.  For  this  purpose,  as  soon  as  Mr. 
Randolph  had  concluded  his  speech,  our  young  hero  arose  from  his  seat 
in  the  bar,  and  commenced  by  expressing  his  deep  sympathy  for  the  hon 
orable  gentleman  in  his  seemingly  great  bodily  afflictions,  with  the  hope 
that  his  contemplated  visit  to  Europe  would  result  in  the  restoration  of 

his  health.     He  said  he  had  always  been  a  devoted  admirer  of  Mr.  Ran- 
11 


162  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

dolph,  and  felt  it  due  to  that  distinguished  gentleman,  as  well  as  to  his 
fellow-citizens  of  Buckingham,  that  he  should  embrace  that  opportunity  of 
making  a  public  acknowledgment  of  his  late  political  errors,  as  evinced 
by  a  speech  which  he  had  made  when  honored  with  a  seat  in  the  State 
legislature,  and  in  the  delivery  of  which  he  had  taken  occasion  to  speak 
disparagingly  of  Mr.  Randolph  as  a  tyrannical  master  to  his  slaves.  His 
course,  he  said,  he  had  reason  to  know,  had  not  been  in  accordance 
with  the  sentiments  of  his  constituents,  and  his  personal  attack  upon  his 
distinguished  friend  had  been  made  without  a  personal  knowledge  of  his 
mode  of  treatment  to  his  slaves.  He  hoped  his  constituents  would  forgive 
his  past  errors,  and  he  trusted  to  the  well  known  magnanimity  of  Mr. 
Randolph  for  his  forgiveness  of  the  personal  injury  done  him  in  a  moment 
of  heated  debate  upon  an  exciting  subject,  the  wrong  side  of  which  he 
had  unfortunately  taken. 

During  the  delivery  of  this  ill-timed  speech,  Mr.  R'andolph  sat  with  his 
head  resting  upon  his  hand,  seemingly  absorbed  in  deep  thought ;  and  at 
its  conclusion  he  straightened  himself  up,  and  fixing  upon  his  victim  a 
penetrating  gaze,  he  proceeded  as  follows  :  "I  don't  know  you,  sir;  what 
might  be  your  name?"  The  name  was  given,  when  Mr.  Randolph  con 
tinued  his  interrogatories:  "Whose  son  are  you?  where  did  you  make 
the  speech  you  have  been  talking  about?  and  what  did  you  say  you  were 
trying  to  speak  about?" 

These  questions  were  all  answered  in  a  hurried  and  confused  manner, 
evidently  showing  that  the  young  orator's  situation  was  becoming  unpleas 
ant.  Mr.  Randolph,  after  asking  a  few  more  simple  questions,  the  purport 
of  which  is  not  now  remembered,  concluded  as  follows :  "  I  don't  think 
I  ever  heard  of  you  or  your  speech  before;  and,  of  course,  I  have  no 
particular  comment  to  make  upon  either.  I  knew  your  father,  and 
have  always  thought  he  was  a  right  good  sort  of  a  man ;  and  I  suppose 
you  are  a  degenerate  son  of  a  noble  sire — a  thing  that  is  becoming  quite 
common  in  this  country.  I  hope  my  old  constituents,  God  bless  them, 
will  never  again  be  misrepresented  in  the  legislature,  or  anywhere  else,  by 
such  a  creature  as  you  have  shown  yourself  to  be." 

It  is  needless  to  say,  the  applause  throughout  the  court-room  was  tre 
mendous;  and  it  is  not  believed  our  young  hero  ever  entertained  as  good 
an  opinion  of  himself  from  that  day  until  the  day  of  his  death,  which 
occurred  only  a  few  months  since. 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  163 

We  have  recorded  many  of  Mr.  Randolph's  short  cutting 
thrusts,  gathered  from  the  recollections  of  his  old  constitu 
ents.  We  now  purpose  to  give  the  reader  a  specimen  of 
his  wit,  which  Mr.  Garland  considers  "  the  finest  retort  of 
the  kind  to  be  found  in  the  English  language."  It  was  in 
reply  to  Mr.  McLean,  who  on  one  occasion,  during  a  speech 
delivered  in  Congress,  stated  "  that  the  gentleman  from  Vir 
ginia  (Mr.  Randolph)  had  displayed  a  good  head,  but  he 
would  not  accept  that  gentleman's  head,  to  be  obliged  to 
have  his  heart  along  with  it." 

Mr.  Randolph  replied: 

"  It  costs  me  nothing,  sir,  to  say  that  I  very  much  regret 
that  the  zeal  which  I  have  not  only  felt  but  cherished  on  the 
subject  of  laying  taxes  in  a  manner  which,  in  my  judgment, 
is  consistent  not  merely  with  the  spirit  but  the  very  letter  of 
the  constitution,  should  have  given  to  my  remarks  on  this 
subject  a  pungency,  which  has  rendered  them  disagreeable, 
and  even  offensive,  to  the  gentleman  from  Delaware.  For 
that  gentleman  I  have  never  expressed  any  other  sentiment 
but  respect — I  have  never  uttered  or  entertained  an  unkind 
feeling  towards  that  gentleman,  either  in  the  House  or  else 
where,  nor  do  I  now  feel  any  such  sentiment  towards  him. 
I  never  pressed  my  regard  upon  him — I  press  it  upon  no 
man.  He  appears  to  have  considered  my  remarks  as  hav 
ing  a  personal  application  to  himself.  I  certainly  did  not 
intend  to  give  them  that  direction,  and  I  think  that  my 
prompt  disclaimer  of  any  such  intention  ought  to  have  dis 
armed  his  resentment,  however  justly  it  may  have  been 
excited.  He  has  been  pleased,  sir,  to  say  something,  which, 
no  doubt,  he  thinks  very  severe,  about  my  head  and  my 
heart. 

"  How  easy,  sir,  would  it  be  for  me  to  reverse  the  gentle 
man's  proposition,  and  to  retort  upon  him  that  I  would  not 


164  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

in  return  take  that  gentleman's  heart,  however  good  it  may 
be,  if  obliged  to  take  such  a  head  into  the  bargain. 

"  But,  sir,  I  do  not  think  this,  I  never  thought  it,  and 
therefore  I  cannot  be  so  ungenerous  as  to  say  it;  for,  Mr. 
Speaker,  who  made  me  a  searcher  of  hearts,  of  the  heart  of 
a  fellow  sinner?  Sir,  this  is  an  awful  subject,  better  suited 
to  Friday  or  Sunday  next  (Good  Friday  and  Easter  Sun 
day),  two  of  the  most  solemn  days  in  the  Christian  calendar, 
when  I  hope  we  shall  all  consider  it,  and  lay  it  to  heart  as 
we  ought  to  do. 

"  But,  sir,  I  must  maintain  that  the  argument  of  the  gen 
tleman  is  suicidal — he  has  fairly  worked  the  equation,  and 
one-half  of  his  argument  is  a  complete  and  conclusive  an 
swer  to  the  other.  And,  sir,  if  I  should  ever  be  so  unfortu 
nate  as,  through  inadvertence  or  the  heat  of  debate,  to  fall 
into  such  an  error,  I  should  so  far  from  being  offended  feel 
myself  under  obligation  to  any  gentleman  who  would  expose 
its  fallacy,  even  by  ridicule — as  fair  a  weapon  as  any  in  the 
whole  parliamentary  armory.  I  shall  not  go  so  far  as  to 
maintain  with  my  Lord  Shaftsbury,  that  it  is  the  unerring 
test  of  truth,  whatever  it  may  be  of  temper;  but  if  it  be  pre 
scribed  as  a  weapon,  as  unfair  as  it  is  confessedly  powerful, 
what  shall  we  say  (I  put  it,  sir,  to  you  and  to  the  House)  to 
the  poisoned  arrow,  to  the  tomahawk  and  the  scalping 
knife?  Would  the  most  unsparing  use  of  ridicule  justify  a 
resort  to  these  weapons?  Was  this  a  reason  that  the  gentle 
man  should  sit  in  judgment  on  my  heart?  Yes,  sir,  my 
heart,  which  the  gentleman  (whatever  he  may  say)  in  his 
heart  believes  to  be  a  frank  heart,  as  I  trust  it  is  a  brave 
heart.  Sir,  I  dismiss  the  gentleman  to  his  self  compla 
cency — let  him  go — yes,  sir,  let  him  go,  and  thank  his  God 
that  he  is  not  as  this  publican." 

Many  of  Mr.  Randolph's  sarcastic  retorts  have  been  pub- 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  165 

lished;  we  will  repeat  one  more,  taken  from  "The  Memories 
of  Fifty  Years,"  by  W.  H.  Sparks: 

I  remember,  upon  one  occasion,  pending  the  debate  upon  the  Missouri 
question,  and  when  Mr.  Randolph  was  in  the  habit  of  almost  daily  ad 
dressing  the  house,  that  a  Mr.  Beecher,  of  Ohio,  who  was  very  impatient 
of  Randolph's  tirades,  would,  in  the  lengthy  pauses  made  by  him,  rise 
from  his  place  and  move  the  previous  question.  The  speaker  would  re 
ply:  "The  member  from  Virginia  has  the  floor."  The  first  and  second 
interruptions  were  not  noticed  by  Randolph,  but  upon  the  repetition  a 
third  time,  he  slowly  lifted  his  head  from  contemplating  his  notes,  and 
said :  "  Mr.  Speaker,  in  the  Netherlands,  a  man  of  small  capacity,  with 
bits  of  wood  and  leather,  will,  in  a. few  moments,  construct  a  toy  that, 
with  the  pressure  of  the  finger  and  thumb,  will  cry  'Cuckoo!  Cuckoo!' 
With  less  of  ingenuity,  and  with  inferior  materials,  the  people  of  Ohio  have 
made  a  toy  that  will,  without  much  pressure,  cry  '  Previous  question,  Mr. 
Speaker!  Previous  question,  Mr.  Speaker!'  " — at  the  same  time  designat 
ing  Beecher  by  pointing  at  him  with  his  long,  skeleton-looking  finger. 
In  a  moment  the  house  was  convulsed  with  laughter,  and  I  doubt  if 
Beecher  ever  survived  the  sarcasm. 


166  HOME    REMINISCENCES 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Recollections  by  Dr.  W.  S.  Plumer,  D.  D. — Extract  from  the  National' 
Intelligencer. 

WE  will  now  lay  before  our  readers  the  recollections  of 
Dr.  W.  S.  Plumer,  and  we  deem  ourself  fortunate  in 
securing  a  contribution  from  a  man  of  such  national 
reputation,  and  one  of  the  ablest  and  purest  men  living : 

John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke,  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of 
•  our  country.  He  has  now  been  dead  over  forty  years,  yet  all  over  the 
land,  in  Virginia  particularly,  you  hear  his  sayings  reported  as  if  they  had 
been  uttered  but  yesterday. 

In  early  life  he  was  frequently,  thrown  into  company  with  men  more 
or  less  poisoned  with  French  infidelity.  Then  appeared  the  power  of 
maternal  love  and  piety.  He  once  said :  "  I  should  have  been  a  French 
atheist  if  it  had  not  been  for  one  thing,  and  that  was  the  memory  of  the 
times  when  my-  departed  mother  used  to  take  my  little  hands  in  hers,  and 
caused  me  on  my  knees  to  say;  '  Our  Father,  who  art  in  Heaven.'  " 

Many  instances  of  Mr.  Randolph's  great  eccentricity  of  character  are 
still  retained  throughout  the  country.  But  in  them  the  public  is  but  little 
interested. 

In  pure  Anglo-Saxon  and  in  Latin  Mr.  Randolph  was  a  good  scholar. 
He  was  very  familiar  with  Virgil.  His  ear  was  easily  offended  by  the 
use  of  a  wrong  word,  or  the  mispronunciation  of  the  right  word.  Even 
in  his  last  sickness,  some  one  said:  "Mr.  Randolph,  do  you  lay  easy?" 
He  replied:  "  I  lie  as  easily  as  perhaps  a  dying  man  can." 

Mr.  Randolph  often  crossed  the  sea.  He  highly  valued  British  honesty, 
British  manufactures  and  British  laws.  He  admitted  very  readily  our  in 
debtedness  to  the  British  constitution  for  many  of  our  liberties,  civil  and 
religious.  He  carefully  studied  the  writings  of  Edmund  Burke.  I  long 
owned  a  copy  of  that  statesman's  writings,  which  once  belonged  to  Ran- 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  167 

dolph.  It  was  often  underlined,  and  in  many  places  the  margin  was 
covered  with  pencil  notes.  Mr.  Randolph's  great  speeches  gave  unmis 
takable  evidence  of  his  intimate  acquaintance  with  Burke. 

From  early  boyhood  I  had  read  and  heard  much  of  Mr.  Randolph. 
His  early  speeches  wex-e  commended  by  Patrick  Henry  and  other  great 
men.  He  was  wholly  opposed  to  the  war  of  1812.  This  made  him 
many  enemies.  For  a  time  it  cost  him  his  seat  in  Congress.  He  never 
spoke  in  high  terms  of  Mr.  Madison's  administration.  This  was  one  of 
the  points  on  which  he  and  Mr.  Clay  widely  differed.  But  Randolph 
greatly  admired  Mr.  Monroe  and  his  public  measures. 

In  gaining  a  prodigious  influence  over  his  constituents,  Mr.  Randolph 
very  successfully  used  two  arts.  One  was  to  make  young  men  afraid  of 
his  tongue.  The  other  was  to  win  over  all  the  old  men  by  special  atten 
tion.  He  greatly  praised,  he  even  flattered  old  men.  But  his  tongue  was 
a  terror  to  the  young.  Often  at  the  hustings,  and  sometimes  in  Congress, 
he  said  :  "  No  man  ever  had  such  constituents." 

At  one  time  Mr.  Randolph  seemed  intent  on  vicing  with  others  in  rais 
ing  fine  horses.  At  a  heavy  cost  he  made  one  or  two  importations.  The 
result  was  not  satisfactory.  He  had  a  few  fine  animals  for  the  saddle  and 
sulky;  but  his  own  statement  was  that  his  horses  were  "too  light  for  the 
draft  and  too  slow  for  the  turf." 

I  was  once  in  a  company  of  gentlemen  from  Virginia  and  North  Caro 
lina,  when  some  one  said  Mr.  Randolph  seemed  to  have  very  little  self- 
knowledge.  One  present  replied,  "However  that  may  be,  gentlemen,  I 
think  you  will  admit  he  knows  a  deal  about  other  people." 

Through  life  Mr.  Randolph  seems  to  have  been  a  stranger  to  fear;  no 
man  ever  saw  his  face  blanched  with  terror.  When  a  young  man  he  was 
in  Petersburg,  Virginia.  Being  on  the  street  some  one  told  him  of  a  des 
perado  near  the  market,  who  had  committed  some  outrage  and  refused  to 
surrender  to  the  officer  of  the  law.  "  Where  is  he,"  said  Mr.  Randolph, 
and  immediately  started  down  Sycamore  street.  A  number  followed. 
Coming  near  the  violent  man,  he  fixed  his  eye  on  him,  marched  fearlessly 
up  to  him,  laid  his  hand  on  him,  and  said,  "Constable,  do  your  duty." 

Early  in  life  Mr.  Randolph  took  a  lively  interest  and  participation  in 
the  disputes  and  troubles  arising  out  of  the  alien  and  sedition  laws.  This 
was  in  the  days  when  the  elder  Adams  was  president.  The  election  of 
Mr.  Jefferson  brought  with  it  the  early  repeal  of  those  odious  measures, 
and  was  therefore  hailed  v/ith  joy  by  Mr.  Randolph.  To  this  time  Mr. 


168  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

Randolph  referred,  during  the  administration  of  the  younger  Adams,  when 
he  said :  "  I  bore  some  humble  part  in  putting  down  the  dynasty  of  John 
the  First,  and,  by  the  grace  of  God,  I  hope  to  aid  in  putting  down  the 
dynasty  of  John  the  Second." 

It  has  sometimes  been  said  that  Mr.  Randolph  never  originated  or  car 
ried  out  any  great  measure.  And  this  is  true.  But  he  thought*the  world 
was  too  much  governed.  He  believed  that  beyond  the  protection  of  the 
people  in  their  rights,  most  of  the  measures  proposed  under  the  promise  of 
immense  benefit  to  the  people,  were  delusive  and  injurious.  Mr.  Clay's 
"American  System,"  the  "Panama  Congress,"  and  all  such  schemes  were 
objects  of  his  strong  aversion. 

In  i829~'3O,  "the  Mother  of  States  and  of  Statesmen"  was  honored  with 
a  convention  to  make  for  her  a  new  constitution.  That  was  by  far  the  ablest 
and  most  venerable  body  of  men  I  have  ever  seen  assembled  on  affairs  of 
State.  In  it  were  two  ex-Presidents—Madison  and  Monroe,  the  Chief 
Justice  of  the  United  States— John  Marshall,  Littleton  Waller  Tazewell, 
John  Randolph  of  Roanoke,  Richard  Venable,  Philip  Dodridge,  Briscoe 
G.  Baldwin,  Chapman  Johnson,  Richard  Morris,  Samuel  Taylor,  Benjamin 
Watkins  Leigh,  Judge  Coalter,  Henry  St.  George  Tucker,  and  a  large 
number  of  men  of  high  consideration. 

In  this  convention  the  policy  of  the  East  was  to  have  as  little  change  as 
possible.  On  the  other  side  the  desire  was  for  great  changes.  Early  in 
the  session  one  gentleman  used  the  phrase,  "I  protest."  Mr.  Randolph 
seeing  that  the  member  was  likely  to  aid  the  party  desiring  change,  under 
took  to  destroy  his  influence  by  pouring  ridicule  on  him  for  using  lan 
guage  technically  proper  only  in  the  British  House  of  Lords. 

Another  member,  before  his  election,  had  opposed  any  convention,  or 
any  change  in  the  constitution.  Subsequently  he  was  a  candidate  for  the 
convention,  and  agreed  to  favor  considerable  changes,  particularly  in  the 
matter  of  representation.  In  a  speech  of  some  power,  Mr.  Randolph 
compared  him  to  the  captain,  so  famous  in  a  celebrated  novel,  who  fougnt 
on  any  side.  The  chief  power  of  the  speech  was  probably  in  weakening 
the  courage  of  the  gentleman,  and  in  restraining  him  from  the  masterly 
defence  he  was  capable  of  making  in  any  respectable  cause. 

In  the  convention  was  a  preacher,  who  had  made  some  noise  in  the 
world.  I  was  present  when  he  rose  to  make  his  address,  intended  to  be 
powerful.  But  Mr.  Randolph,  who  was  a  great  actor,  drew  many  eyes  to 
himself.  At  first  he  leaned  forward,  gazed  as  if  with  wonder  and  in  awe. 


OF   JOHN   RANDOLPH.  169 

For  two  or  three  minutes  he  looked  and  acted  as  if  he  expected  something 
great.  By  degrees  he  seemed  to  lose  interest  in  the  speaker,  and  finally 
sunk  back  into  his  seat,  with  a  strong  expression  of  contempt  on  his  coun 
tenance.  He  had  not  said  a  word,  nor  violated  any  parliamentary  law. 
The  acting  was  perfect.  It  had  its  effect.  The  speaker  could  not  rally 
the  courage  of  his  party. 

Yet  near  the  close  of  the  convention  Mr.  Randolph  made  a  declaration 
of  his  good  will  towards  every  member  of  the  body,  but  this  came  too 
late  to  relieve  some  very  painful  emotions  in  several  minds. 

The  new  constitution  was  submitted  to  the  vote  of  the  people  in  1830. 
In  April  Mr.  Randolph  addressed  the  people  who  had  elected  him.  I 
heard  his  speech  at  Charlotte  Court-house.  His  appearance  was  impres 
sive.  He  was  tall  and  thin.  His  beardless  face  was  pale,  and  full  of 
small  wrinkles.  He  was  dressed  like  an  old  man,  very  neatly,  but  very 
simply.  His  eyes  were  as  brilliant  as  they  had  ever  been.  His  long 
bony  forefinger  seemed  to  have  the  power  of  a  magician's  wand.  In  five 
days  from  that  time  I  could  have  repeated  the  whole  speech. 

And  yet  that  speech  disappointed  some.  A  stranger,  of  some  intelli 
gence,  came  there  expecting  to  be  thrilled,  or  melted,  or  aroused  to  indig 
nation.  But  Mr.  Randolph,  so  far  from  being  impassioned,  was  as  calm 
as  any  man  ever  seems  to  be.  He  affected  no  humor.  He  was  as  simple 
as  a  little  child.  A  few  times  his  irony  was  cutting,  his  sarcasms  biting, 
his  rebuke  terrible,  but  there  seemed  to  be  no  passion  in  it  all. 

Mr.  Randolph  put  his  hearers  in  possession  of  his  own  thoughts.  This 
was  his  aim.  And  his  thoughts  were  indelibly  impressed  on  the  mind  of 
every  intelligent  listener.  My  judgment  to-day,  at  the  distance  of  nearly 
forty-seven  years  is,  that  it  was  one  of  the  most  effective  speeches  I  have 
ever  heard.  It  was  conclusive.  No  one  asked  any  questions.  The  old 
men  wept.  Here  is  one  entire  paragraph :  "  Formerly  tyrants  and  the 
authors  of  misrule  used  to  slit  the  noses,  crop  the  ears,  and  brand  the  skin 
of  those  under  their  hated  power.  But  this  course  made  it  unpleasant  to 
look  at  their  subjects.  Their  faces  were  hideous.  Afterwards  they  tried 
another  plan.  They  hired  out  their  subjects  to  fight  for  foreign  potentates, 
in  wars  in  which  they  had  no  concern.  Many  of  these  mercenaries  never 
returned.  This  plan  left  their  country  filled  with  widows  and  orphans. 
At  length  this  scheme  was  abandoned.  But  our  modern  wrong-doers  in 
power  have  found  a  far  better  way  of  gaining  their  vile  ends.  They  give 
to  each  man  what  they  denominate  a  fee  simple  title  to  a  piece  of  land, 


170  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

perhaps  as  much  as  he  can  cultivate.  He  calls  it  his  own.  His  house  is 
his  castle.  The  law  protects  him  in  his  possessions.  He  is  encouraged 
to  ply  all  the  arts  of  industry,  and  to  make  all  he  can.  Then  the  hated 
tyrants  send  around  the  tax-gatherer,  three  or  four  times  a  year,  and  take 
all  he  has  made.  This  pays.  Remember  what  I  say.  This  one  is  to  be 
the  modern  game." 

Mr.  Randolph  never  was  married.  He  left  a  will,  with  codicils.  This 
was  virtually  set  aside,  after  long  litigation,  except  so  much  as  liberated 
his  slaves.  However  much  men  may  have  hated  or  pitied  Mr.  Randolph, 
no  man  ever  held  him  in  contempt. 

The  following  highly  interesting  article  was  clipped  from 
the  National  Intelligencer  of  June  4,  1833  : 

JOHN  RANDOLPH  OF  ROANOKE. — The  following  sketch  of  this  distin 
guished  orator,  written  thirty  years  ago,  but  never  published,  is  furnished 
by  a  gentleman  who  had  been  in  habits  of  intimacy  with  him  ever  since. 
It  was  written  off-hand,  after  residing  with  him  in  the  same  hotel  at 
Georgetown  for  some  weeks,  in  a  constant  familiar  intercourse  which  has 
continued  at  intervals  until  his  decease.  The  writer  bears  his  testimony 
that  nothing  in  the  life  and  conduct  of  Mr.  Randolph,  during  all  their 
subsequent  acquaintance,  gave  him  occasion  to  believe  for  a  moment  that 
his  early  impressions  of  his  character  were  in  the  slightest  degree  erro 
neous. — N.  Y.  Courier. 

Mr.  Randolph  is  beyond  comparison  the  most  singular  and  striking  per 
son  that  I  ever  met  with.  As  an  orator  he  is  unquestionably  the  first  in  the 
country,  and  yet  there  are  few  men  who  labor  under  so  many  physical  dis 
advantages.  He  seems  made  up  of  contradictions.  Though  his  person 
is  exceedingly  tall,  thin  and  disproportioned,  he  is  the  most  graceful  man 
in  the  world ;  and  with  an  almost  feminine  voice,  he  is  more  distinctly  heard 
in  the  House  than  either  Mr.  D.  or  Roger — though  the  former  is  more 
noisy  than  a  field  preacher,  and  the  latter  more  vocifierous  than  a  crier  of 
oysters.  When  seated  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  halls  of  Congress  Mr. 
Randolph  looks  like  a  youth  of  sixteen,  but  when  he  rises  to  speak,  there 
is  an  almost  sublimity  in  the  effect  proceeding  from  the  contrast  in  his 
height  when  seated  or  standing.  In  the  former  his  shoulders  are  raised, 
his  head  depressed,  his  body  bent;  in  the  latter  he  is  seen  with  his  figure 
dilated  in  the  attitude  of  inspiration,  his  head  raised,  his  long  thin  finger 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  171 

pointing,  and  his  dark,  clear,  chestnut  eye  flashing  lightning  at  the  object 
of  his  overwhelming  sarcasm. 

Mr.  Randolph  looks,  acts,  and  speaks  like  no  other  man  I  have  ever 
seen.  He  is  original,  unique  in  everything.  His  style  of  oratory  is  em 
phatically  his  own.  Often  diffusive  and  discursive  in  his  subjects,  his 
language  is  simple,  brief  and  direct,  and  however  he  may  seem  to  wander 
from  the  point  occasionally,  he  never  fails  to  return  to  it  with  a  bound, 
illummating  it  with  flashes  of  wit  or  the  happiest  illustrations  drawn  from 
a  retentive  memory  and  a  rich  imagination.  Though  eccentric  in  his 
conduct  in  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life,  and  his  intercourse  with  the  world, 
there  will  be  found  more  of  what  is  called  common  sense  in  his  speeches 
than  in  those  of  any  other  man  in  Congress.  His  illustrations  are  almost 
always  drawn  from  familiar  scenes,  and  no  man  is  so  happy  in  allusions  to 
fables,  proverbs  and  the  ordinary  incidents  of  human  life,  of  which  he  has 
been  a  keen  observer.  His  is  not  that  fungus  species  of  eloquence  which 
expands  itself  into  empty  declamation,  sacrificing  strength,  clearness  and 
perspicuity,  to  the  more  popular  charm  of  redundant  metaphors  and 
periods  rounded  with  all  the  precision  of  the  compass.  Mr.  Randolph  is 
a  man  of  wit,  and  wit  deals  in  comparisons ;  yet  his  language  is  perfectly 
simple,  and  less  figurative  than  that  of  any  of  our  distinguished  speakers. 
This  I  attribute  to  the  clearness  and  vigor  of  his  conceptions.  When  a 
man  distinctly  comprehends  his  subject,  he  will  explain  himself  in  a  few 
words  and  without  metaphor;  but  when  he  is  incapable  of  giving  it  pre 
cise  and  definite  form,  his  language  becomes  figurative,  and  his  ideas,  like 
objects  seen  through  a  mist,  have  neither  outline  nor  dimensions.  No 
thing  is  of  more  easy  comprehension  than  the  ideas  and  language  of  the 
great  orator  of  Virginia. 

Though  continually  worried  by  the  little  terriers  of  the  house,  who 
seem  to  be  sent  there  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  bark  at  him,  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  never  becomes  loud  or  boisterous,  but  utters  the  most  biting  sar 
casm  with  a  manner  the  most  irritatingly  courteous,  and  a  voice  that 
resembles  the  music  of  the  spheres.  Such,  indeed,  is  the  wonderful  clear 
ness  of  his  voice,  and  the  perfection  of  his  enunciation,  that  his  lowest 
tones  circulate  like  echoes  through  the  hall  of  Congress,  and  are  more  dis 
tinctly  understood  than  the  roarings  of  M.  L.,  the  bellowings  of  R.  N.,  or 
the  bleatings  of  the  rosy  and  stentorian  Robert  Ross.  In  all  the  requisites 
of  a  great  orator  he  has  no  superior,  and  in  the  greatest  of  all,  that  of 


172  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

attracting,  charming,  riveting  the  attention  of  his  hearers,  no  equal  in  this 
country,  or  perhaps  in  the  world. 

Mr.  Randolph  has  fared,  as  most  distinguished  political  leaders  have 
done,  in  having  his  conduct  misrepresented,  his  foibles  exaggerated,  and 
his  peculiarities  caricatured.  The  fault  is  in  some  measure  his  own.  He 
spares  no  adversary,  and  he  has  no  right  to  expect  they  will  spare  him. 
In  this  respect  his  example  may  well  be  a  warning  to  inculcate  among 
rival  leaders  the  necessity  of  toleration  in  politics  as  well  as  rejigion. 
That  he  is  irritable,  capricious,  and  careless  of  the  feelings  of  those  for 
whpn}-ie  has  no  particular  respect  or  regard,  no  one  will  deny.  That  he 
is  impatient  in  argument,  and  intolerant  of  opposition,  is  equally  certain ; 
and  the  whole  world  knows  that  he  is  little  solicitous  to  disguise  his  con 
tempt  or  dislike.  But  much  of  this  peevish  irritability  may  find  its  origin 
and  excuse  in  his  physical  sufferings.  Almost  from  his  boyhood  he  has 
never  known  the  blessings  of  health,  nor  ever  enjoyed  its  anticipation. 
His  constitution  is  irretrievably  broken,  and  though  he  may  live  many 
years,  they  will,  in  all  probability,  be  years  of  anxiety  and  suffering,  em 
bittered  by  ridicule,  instead  of  being  soothed  by  the  sympathy  of  the 
world,  which  is  ever  apt  to  suppose  that  a  man  cannot  be  sick  without 
dying.  Men  lingering  under  the  slow  consuming  tyranny  of  a  constitu 
tional  infirmity,  and  dying,  not  by  inches,  but  the  hundredth  part  of 
inches,  seem  to  me  among  the  most  pitiable  of  the  human  race.  The 
world,  and  even  their  friends,  come  at  last  to  believe  their  malady  imagin 
ary,  their  complaints  without  cause.  They  grow  tired  of  hearing  a  man 
always  proclaiming  himself  a  "victim  to  disease,  yet  at  the  same  time 
taking  his  share  in  the  business,  and  apparently  in  the  enjoyments  of  life, 
and  living  on  like  the  rest  of  his  fellow  creatures.  "They  jest  at  scars 
that  never  felt  a  wound,"  and  the  very  circumstances  that  should  excite 
additional  commiseration  too  often  give  occasion  to  cold  neglect  or  flip 
pant  ridicule. 

In  this  painful  situation  is  Mr.  Randolph  at  present,  and  it  seems  to  me 
that  an  apology  at  least  for  his  selfish  disregard  of  the  feelings  of  others 
may  be  found  in  his  own  hopeless  sufferings  and  the  want  of  sympathy. 
I  know  of  no  situation  more  calculated  to  make  a  man  a  misanthrope; 
and  those  who  are  foremost  and  loudest  jn  their  condemnation  of  Mr. 
Randolph  would  do  well  to  look  to  their  own  hearts,  place  themselves  in 
his  situation,  and  then  ask  whether  it  does  not  naturally  lead  to,  though  it 
may  not  justify,  occasional  irritation,  or  even  habitual  ill  temper.  I  here 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  173 

speak  of  this  distinguished  man  as  the  world  speaks  of  him.  But  so  far 
as  I  saw  him,  and  this  was  at  all  hours,  he  is  full  of  benignity  and  kind 
ness.  His  treatment  of  servants,  and  especially  his  own  slaves,  was  that 
of  the  kindest  master,  and  he  always  called  his  personal  attendant 
"Johnny,"  a  circumstance,  to  my  mind,  strongly  indicative  of  habitual 
good  will  towards  him.  To  me,  from  whose  admiration  or  applause  he 
could  at  that  time  at  least  anticipate  neither  honor  or  advantage,  his  be 
havior  was  uniformly  kind,  almost  affectionate,  and  it  will  be  very  long 
before  I  lose  the  recollection  of  his  conciliating  smile,  the  music  of  his 
mellow  voice,  or  the  magic  of  his  gentle  manners.  We  passed  .our  even 
ings  together,  or  I  may  perhaps  rather  say  a  good  portion  of  the  night, 
for  he  loved  to  sit  up  late,  because,  as  he  was  wont  to  say,  the  grave,  not 
the  bed,  was  the  place  of  rest  for  him.  On  these  occasions  there  was  a 
charm  in  his  conversation  I  never  found  in  that  of  any  other  person. 

Virginia  was  the  goddess  of  his  idolatry,  and  of  her  he  delighted  to 
talk.  He  loved  her  so  much,  and  so  dearly,  that  he  sometimes  almost  for 
got  he  was  also  a  citizen  of  the  United  States.  The  glories  and  triumphs 
of  the  eloquence  of  Patrick  Henry,  and  the  ancient  hospitality  of  the 
aristocracy  of  the  Old  Dominion,  were  also  his  favorite  subjects,  of  which 
he  never  tired,  and  with  which  he  never  tired  me.  In  short,  the  im 
pression  on  my  mind  is  never  to  be  eradicated,  that  his  heart  was  liberal, 
open  and  kind,  and  that  his  occasional  ebullitions  of  spleen  and  im 
patience  were  the  spontaneous,  perhaps  irrepressible,  efforts  of  a  suffering 
and  debilitated  frame,  to  relieve  .itself  a  moment  from  the  eternal  impres 
sion  of  its  own  unceasing  worryings. 

But,  whatever  may  be  the  defects  of  Mr.  Randolph's  temper,  no  one 
can  question  his  high  and  lofty  independence  of  mind,  or  his  unsullied 
integrity  as  a  public  agent  or  a  private  gentleman.  In  the  former  char 
acter,  he  has  never  abandoned  his  principles  to  suit  any  political  crisis, 
and  in  the  latter  he  may  emphatically  be  called  an  honest  man.  His 
word  and  his  bond  are  equally  to  be  relied  on,  and  as  his  country  can 
never  accuse  him  of  sacrificing  her  interests  to  his  own  ambition,  so  no 
man  can  justly  charge  him  with  the  breach  of  any  private  obligation.  In 
both  these  respects,  he  stands  an  illustrious  example  to  a  country  in  which 
political  talents  are  much  more  common  then  political  integrity,  and  where 
it  is  too  much  the  custom  to  forget  the  actions  of  a  man  in  our  admiration 
of  his  speeches. 

It  is  with  regret  I  add,  that  this  brilliant  man,  who  has  already  attracted 


1,74  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

attention,  not  only  of  his  countrymen,  but  of  the  world,  will,  in  all  proba 
bility,  survive  but  a  few  years.  His  health  appears  irretrievably  lost,  and 
his  constitution  irreparably  injured.  A  premature  decay  seems  gradually 
creeping  upon  all  his  vital  powers,  and  an  inevitable,  unseen  influence 
appears  to  be  dragging  him  to  the  grave.  At  the  age  of  thirty,  with  all 
the  world  in  his  grasp,  wealth  in  his  possession,  and  glory  and  power  in 
perspective,  he  is,  in  constitution,  an  infirm  old  man,  with  light,  glossy 
hair,  parted  over  his  forehead  and  tied  loosely  behind  with  a  black  riband ; 
teeth  white  as  ivory ;  an  eye  sparkling  with  intellect,  and  a  countenance 
seamed  with  a  thousand  small  wrinkles.  At  a  distance  of  a  hundred 
yards,  he  will  be  mistaken  for  an  overgrown  boy  of  premature  growth ; 
approach  him,  and  at  every  step  his  appearance  changes,  and  he  becomes 
gradually  metamorphosed  into  an  old  man.  You  will  then  see  a  face  such 
as  you  never  saw  before,  never  will  see  again;  if  he  likes  you,  a  smile, 
such  as  you  never  beheld  on  the  face  of  any  other  man ;  and  when  that 
smile  passes  away,  a  countenance  bearing  an  expression  of  long  continued 
anxiety  and  suffering  that  will  make  your  heart  ache. 

Such  is  Mr.  Randolph,  as  he  appeared  to  me  at  the  age  of  thirty  years. 
He  may  be  wayward,  eccentric,  self-willed  and  erratic.  His  opponents 
sometimes  insinuate  that  he  is  mad ;  but  this  is  nothing  more  than  the 
whisperings  of  party  malignity.  Would  to  heaven  there  were  more  such 
madmen  among  our  rulers  and  legislators  to  make  folly  silent  and  wicked 
ness  ashamed ;  to  assert  and  defend  the  ancient  principles  of  our  revolu 
tion;  to  detect  quack  politicians,  quack  lawyers  and  quack  divines,  and 
to  afford  to  his  countrymen  an  example  of  inflexible  integrity  both  in 
public  and  private  life.  But  he  is  original  and  unique  in  this  as  in  every 
thing  else;  and  when  he  departs  this  scene,  in  which  he  has  suffered  the 
martyrdom  of  sickness  and  detraction  combined,  if  living,  I  will  bear  this 
testimony,  that  he  will  not  leave  behind  any  man  that  can  claim  superiority 
over  him  as  a  glorious  orator,  a  sagacious,  high-minded,  independent 
patriot,  and  inflexibly  honest  man." 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  175 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Last  Speech — Secession  Resolutions — How  He  Managed  to  Force  Them 
Down — Rare  Scenes  on  the  Political  Stage. 

AMONG  the  materials  which  we  have  collected  for  our 
"Home  Reminiscences  of  John  Randolph  of  Roa- 
noke,"  is  a  manuscript  report  of  the  last  speech,  or 
"long  talk,"  made  by  the  great  orator  to  the  people  of  his 
adopted  county,  on  the  4th  of  February,  1833,  only  four 
months  and  twenty  days  before  his  death.  At  that  time  he 
was  quite  an  old  man,  his  constitution  a  perfect  wreck,  tot 
tering  on  the  brink  of  the  grave. 

Court  being  in  session,  he  sent  word  to  the  magistrates 
that  he  had  a  request  to  make  of  them ;  it  might  be  the  last 
he  would  ever  make  of  them  on  earth.  He  desired  to  ad 
dress  the  people,  and  wished  the  court  to  adjourn  the  mo 
ment  he  made  his  appearance  in  the  court-house. 

The  reason  assigned  for  making  this  unusual  request  was 
this :  His  mind,  he  stated,  would  only  act  for  a  short  time, 
and  then  under  the  influence  of  artificial  stimulant.  The 
court,  eager  to  hear  what  the  dying  man  had  to  say,  readily 
consented  to  his  request. 

He  made  his  appearance,  leaning  upon  two  of  his  friends 
for  support;  and  he  had  no  sooner  entered  the  house  than  it 
was  filled  with  people.  He  commenced  speaking  from  the 
chair,  being  too  infirm  to  stand  upon  his  feet.  We  are  in 
formed  he  began  with  three  dress  coats  on,  but  that,  before 
he  concluded,  he  had  on  only  one.  His  glass  of  toddy  was 


176  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

sitting  by  his  side,  of  which  he  drank  freely  from  time  to- 
time.  Though  he  spoke  principally  from  the  chair,  ever 
and  anon  the  "fire  and  motion  of  his  soul"  refused  to  be 
restrained  by  his  feeble  body,  and  at  such  times  he  would 
rise  upon  his  feet. 

But  what  was  the  meaning  of  this  extraordinary  proceed 
ing?  What  mental  stimulus  was  moving  a  mind  prostrated 
by  disease,  causing  him  to  forget  for  the  moment  the  terrors 
of  the  unknown  world  to  which  he  was  hastening,  and  drag 
ging  along  his  withered  body  which  his  spirit  could  scarcely 
animate?  Feeble  as  he  was,  he  had  ridden  fifteen  miles,  on 
a  winter's  day,  to  address  the  people. 

There  was  a  scene  for  the  moralist,  the  novelist  and  the 
painter.  This  is  the  conduct  of  a  man  whose  mind  was 
morbidly  active,  whose  imagination  was  too  much  heated. 
Some  might  deem  him  mad,  but  such  was  not  the  case.  He 
was  only  excited  to  the  highest  pitch  by  natural  and  artificial 
stimulants. 

South  Carolina  had  just  passed  her  celebrated  ordinance 
of  secession,  and  General  Jackson  had  issued  his  proclama 
tion,  and  the  whole  country  was  thrown  into  the  greatest 
excitement.  Mr.  Randolph  began  his  political  career  upon 
the  very  spot  where  he  was  then  standing  in  opposition 
to  Patrick  Henry  and  in  defence  of  States  Rights.  General 
Jackson  had  assailed  violently  his  favorite  idea — the  doctrine 
for  which  he  had  contended  during  a  long  life.  This  is  what 
kindled  the  fire  within  his  withered  breast,  rousing  his  pal 
sied  faculties,  and  causing  his  stagnant  pulse  its  rapid  play. 

It  has  been  objected  to  Mr.  Randolph's  patriotism  that  it 
was  too  limited — that  it  did  not  include  the  whole  Union — 
that  he  did  not  have  the  prosperity  of  the  entire  country  at 
heart.  Mr.  Baldwin  has  drawn  an  interesting  parallel  be 
tween  Mr.  Randolph  and  Mr.  Clay,  and  in  no  respect  does 


OF   JOHN   RANDOLPH.  177 

the  contrast  appear  more  striking  than  in  this,  viz:  Mr.  Clay 
knew  no  North,  no  South,  no  East,  no  West;  Mr.  Randolph 
knew  only  Virginia.  Her  glory  was  the  pride  of  his  life ; 
her  prosperity  the  end  of  his  efforts.  He  was  fully  persuaded 
that  these  depended  upon  the  doctrine  of  States  Rights. 
Hence,  as  has  been  remarked  by  Mr.  Baldwin,  "When 
ever  he  spoke,  whatever  he  wrote,  wherever  he  went,  States 
Rights,  States  Rights,  were  the  inexhaustless  theme  of  his 
discourse." 

It  cannot  be  wondered  at  then  that  a  man  of  his  excitable 
nature,  and  devotion  to  an  idea,  when  that  idea  was  assailed 
by  a  powerful  foe,  should  have  shaken  off  the  night-mare  of 
death,  to  make  a  last  spasmodic  effort  in  its  defence.  His 
conduct  on  this  occasion  may  be  compared  to  the  super 
human  efforts  of  a  man  to  rescue  a  friend  from  impending 
danger.  The  physical  energy  displayed  was  surprising  to 
all  who  were  acquainted  with  his  bodily  infirmities ;  but  the 
mental  energy  exerted  under  the  peculiar  circumstances  of 
his  case  was  wonderful  indeed. 

Mr.  Randolph  said  he  desired  to  address  the  people. 
•Could  a  man  in  his  condition  deliver  a  public  address?  It 
is  a  matter  of  curiosity  to  see  what  effect  had  age,  disease, 
dissipation,  stormy  passions,  intense  mental,  suffering  upon 
that  brilliant  intellect  and  fearless  spirit,  which  had  the 
nerve  in  his  youth  to  attack  the  gigantic  powers  of  Patrick 
Henry. 

He  did  speak,  and  a  report  of  his  speech  is  before  us.  Mr. 
William  B.  Green,  in  his  "  Recollections"  of  Mr.  Randolph, 
informs  us  that  the  speaker  was  very  anxious  that  his  speech 
should  be  in  whole,  or  at  least  in  part  reported.  We  quote 
from  his  manuscripts: 

"  Mr.  Randolph  drummed  up  for  a  stenographer.  There 
happened  to  be  present  a  schoolmaster  by  the  name  of  Frost, 

12 


178  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

who  professed  to  be  somewhat  acquainted  with  the  art,  and 
Judge  Beverly  Tucker,  who  promised  to  assist  Mr.  Frost  to 
the  extent  of  his  knowledge.  The  sequel,  however,  showed 
that  neither  of  the  gentlemen  was  very  expert,  for  no  part 
of  the  speech,  so  far  as  I  know,  was  ever  published,  but 
simply  the  resolutions. 

"  The  lecture,  if  I  may  so  call  it,  which  Mr.  Randolph  gave 
the  stenographer,  was  exceedingly  interesting,  but  I  am  un 
able  to  recall  his  express  words,  except  in  one  or  two  sen 
tences.  He  was  anxious,  as  before  remarked,  to  have  the 
speech,  which  he  was  about  to  deliver,  fully  taken  down ; 
but,  fearing  that  this  might  be  impracticable,  he  insisted  that 
the  strong  points,  and  the  biting  parts  at  least,  should  be 
preserved ;  and  in  conclusion  said :  '  When  I  say  anything 
that  tickles  under  the  tail,  be  sure  to  put  it  down.' 

"  The  speech  was  then  commenced,  and  he  spoke  for  a 
considerable  time  with  overwhelming  power  and  unsurpassed 
eloquence.  The  resolutions  were  then  passed  in  the  form  in 
which  you  now  find  them. 

"I  never  entertained  a  doubt  that  a  majority  of  the  com 
mittee  were  opposed  to  them,  and  that  had  they  been  offered 
and  supported  by  any  member  of  the  committee,  or  indeed 
by  any  other  person  than  Mr.  Randolph,  they  would  have 
been  voted  down.  It  was  his  address,  management  and  elo 
quence  alone,  which  caused  their  adoption.  I  have  never 
ceased  to  regret  that  I  had  anything  to  do  with  the  matter ; 
and  I  may  add,  that  I  have  always  regarded  the  connection 
which  I  had  with  the  subject  as  the  meanest  act  of  my  poli 
tical  life. 

"  As  an  additional  evidence  of  the  power  and  influence 
which  the  speech  exerted,  not  only  upon  the  meeting,  but 
also  upon  those  who  were  casually  present,  I  will  mention  a 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  179 

conversation  which  I  had  with  a  gentleman  of  Halifax  county 
who  was  present. 

"  Mr.  S.,  a  very  well  educated  and  intelligent  lawyer,  called 
at  my  house  the  day  after  the  meeting.  He  had  seen  and 
heard  all.  This  gentleman  acknowledged  that  it  was  the 
most  eloquent  speech  he  had  ever  heard,  and  that  though 
he  was  a  thorough  administration  Jackson  man,  yet,  under 
the  excitement  of  the  moment,  had  he  been  a  member  of  the 
committee,  he  would  have  voted  for  the  resolutions." 

Mr.  Green  was  correct.  No  part  of  this  speech  was  ever 
published.  The  report  we  have  of  it  was  not  written  by  Mr. 
Frost,  nor  by  Judge  Tucker,  but  by  a  young  man  who  hap 
pened  to  be  present,  and  who  afterwards  rose  to  a  high  posi 
tion  in  society.  This  speech  and  the  famous  secession  reso 
lutions  which  were  passed  at  the  same  time,  and  the  manner 
in  which  Mr.  Randolph  procured  their  passage,  forms  the 
most  interesting  chapter  in  the  history  of  this  remarkable 
man. 

Mr.  Randolph  commenced  by  saying:  "He  should  sub 
ject  himself  to  the  imputation  of  an  overweaning  arrogance 
in  the  attempt  to  address  the  good  people  of  Charlotte ;  but 
the  peculiar  circumstances  in  which  we  are  placed  threw  him 
unavoidably  upon  them.  His  being  a  public  servant  in  their 
employment  for  thirty-five  years,  had  given  him  some  small 
claim  to  their  confidence.  It  rested  with  them  to  accept  or 
disapprove  after  they  had  heard.  If  the  confidence  which 
had  been  reposed  in  him  were  withdrawn,  he  would  be  the 
first  to  acquiesce  and  sanction  the  withdrawment?  He  was 
not  what  he  had  been.  The  prostration  of  his  bodily  powers 
was  total,  and  if  the  destruction  of  mind  had  not  kept  pace 
with  the  body,  they  were  almost  abreast.  Indeed  it  was 
hard  for  him  to  decide  which  rode  the  foremost  horse. 

"  I  see  in  this  assembly  some  who  would  vouch  for  me,  if 


f 


180  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

an  endorsement  were  necessary,  that  I  said  I  would  give  the 
best  horse  I  possessed  (and  no  small  sum  at  that),  for  one- 
half  hour's  conversation  with  the  President  previous  to  wri 
ting  his  annual  message.  * 

"  But  after  the  annual  message  came  to  hand  all  was  calm 
ness  and  quietude.  It  acted  like  a  charm,  a  quietus  to  my 
troubled  breast.  I  was  one  of  the  happiest  men  living — in  a 
perfect  elysium.  For,  having  some  influence  with  the  ruling 
party  in  South  Carolina,  I  felt  that  that  influence  should  be 
exerted  to  allay  their  rash  and  precipitate  measures.  Here 
I  remark  I  am  no  XULLIFIER.  The  doctrine  of  nullification 
is  sheer  nonsense." 

Further  on  he  said : 

"  I  shall  offer  some  resolutions  to-day  on  this  subject,  not 
presuming  to  dictate  to  my  old  constituents,  but  endeavor  to 
make  it  a  subject  of  reference  to  a  committee,  a  large,  select 
committee,  and  I  will  further  say,  a  committee  of  RANK, 
aristocratic  as  it  may  sound;  yes,  rank.  By  rank  I  mean 
age,  ability  and  integrity ;  aye,  and  I  will  go  further — I  will 
say  PROPERTY  too.  In  such  cases,  he  who  has  a  stake  in 
common  with  us,  and  a  stake  too  which  he  cannot  carry  out 
of  the  State,  is  the  man  to  whom  I  wish  to  entrust  my  af 
fairs.  You  all  know  my  principles  have  never  been  dis 
guised.  I  would  not  disguise  them  if  I  could,  and  I  could 
not  if  I  would.  I  am  fond  of  intrinsic  worth — no  over- 
toned,  hypocritical  cant,  however  admirable." 

In  the  course  of  his  remarks  he  gives  us  a  little  piece  of 
human  nature  as  follows : 

"It  is  natural  for  us  to  prefer  our  barn  to  our  neighbor's 
house.  We  will  do  it ;  we  cannot  subvert  one  of  the  strong 
est  of  nature's  principles." 

In  the  last  "long  talk"  we  find  the  following  sentence, 
which  breathes  the  spirit  of  misanthropy  and  misery : 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  181 

"  I  would  as  lief  die  in  my  carriage,  or  on  the  road,  at 
some  of  the  wretched  inns,  between  here  and  Washington,  as 
anywhere." 

To  what  a  sad  pass  must  his  life  have  come !  "  Home, 
sweet  home,"  had  no  charms  for  him. 

"  Those  wretched  inns !"  He  could  never  speak  of  them 
without  indulging  in  unmerited  censure,  nor  enter  one  with 
out  betraying  his  ungovernable  temper. 

But  he  continues : 

"What  is  this  breath?  We  may  try  with  it  to  be  honor 
able,  or  we  may  endeavor  to  be  useful,  but  we  hold  it  no 
longer  than  it  is  His  pleasure  who  gave  it.  He  still  gives  me 
a  little.  He  will  take  it  when  He  pleases,  and  I  can  only  say, 
'Blessed  be  His  Holy  name.' 

"  This  is  the  only  thing  in  the  way  of  cant  you  shall  hear 
from  me.  I  will  leave  that  for  the  work  of  enthusiasts  or  of 
fanatics,  who  live  at  the  expense  of  our  servants,  and  infest 
and  eat  up  the  houses  of  our  neighbors. 

"  In  my  address  at  November  court  I  meant  to  describe 
a  certain  class,  which  I  entirely  overlooked.  I  mean  the 
Yazoo  men,  whose  character  has  ever  been  odious  to  me. 
When  they  had  much  money  at  stake,  I  pledged  my  solemn 
word  that  they  should  find  me  opposing  them  in  their  in 
iquitous  fraud.  When  I  was  a  candidate  for  Congress  in  the 
last  war,  the  men  of  this  description  (and  there  were  not  a 
few  in  this  county,  and  Prince  Edward,  too)  taking  the  ad 
vantage  of  the  war  clamor  and  my  opposition  to  men  and 
measures  then,  did  everything  they  could  to  injure  me.  But 
these  very  men  were  here  in  October,  after  the  war;  yea, 
they  went  round  to  tow  the  ship  back  again — they  had  been 
bitter  enemies,  even  when  no  cause  existed.  I  well  remem 
ber  the  day  I  spoke  on  the  stile  before  the  old  court-house 
door,  when  I  had  a  brush  with  Colonel  Gideon  Spencer, 


182  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

after  which  they  left  my  opponent  like  the  woman  in  the 
Scripture,  who  was  taken  in  adultery ;  swarmed  around  me 
like  a  friend ;  and  if  the  polls  had  been  open  then,  I  should 
have  been  elected  by  acclamation.  But,  the  hunters  were 
busy,  and  there  are  some  voters  who  never  throw  away  a 
shot,  who  never  shoot  at  a  dead  duck.  I  was  returned  to 
be  discharged  from  the  confidence  of  my  old  constituents. 
When  the  polls  were  closed  in  Cumberland,  I  wrote  to 
my  friend  James  Garnet,  and  said  to  him,  that  the  ac 
counts  between  me  and  the  district  were  fairly  balanced. 
But  ever  since  then,  what  is  it  that  has  bound  me  to  my  old 
district,  with  hooks  of  steel  ?  Why  did  they  stick  to  me 
even  when  the  compensation  law  was  passed,  for  which  I 
voted.  For  that  vote  every  man  was  turned  out  but  myself 
and  one  other,  and  he,  by  basely  turning,  twisting,  crouching 
and  explaining,  barely  escaped  being  cashiered. 

"  He  reminded  me  of  the  old  man  and  woman  who  lived 
in  the  vinegar  bottle.  He,  with  the  gaff  and  steel  spur  fitted 
to  his  leg,  rode  through,  and,  to  use  a  common  phrase,  'was 
whipped  and  cleared.'  He  is  a  man  more  mischievous, 
bringing  more  misery  than  any  man  in  these  United  States, 
with  one  exception — I  mean  the  present  incumbent  of  the 
Presidential  chair.  The  present  incumbent  will  have  been 
that  exception,  if  his  late  doctrines  are  acted  upon.  I  speak 
in  the  second  future  tense — will  have  been  that  exception. 
General  Jackson  heretofore  has  opposed  the  doctrines  con 
tained  in  that  accursed  proclamation;  I  know,  up  to  the 
present  time,  for  I  have  been  acquainted  with  his  sentiments. 
He  knows  it,  and  he  knows  that  I  am  not  to  be  swerved 
from  an  avowal  of  truth ;  for,  in  speaking  of  me  in  the  pres 
ence  of  a  respectable  clergyman  of  this  county  lately,  he  re 
marked  that  he  believed  me  to  be  invincibly  honest. 

"  But  now,  if  he  speaks,  it  will  be  apparent  that  I  shall 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  183 

incur  his  deep  resentment — he  may  change  his  opinion  about 
my  invincible  honesty.  But  I  will  not  anticipate,  nor  speak 
unguardedly;  for,  of  his  public  services,  I  will  speak  in 
terms  of  respect. 

"  Now,  life  and  death  are  before  us.  We  are  busy,  we 
ought  to  be  busy,  and,  in  this  bustle,  we  ought  to  pay  but 
little  deference  to  men — better  attend  to  public  benefit.  I, 
for  one,  put  to  hazard  all  the  power  of  public  men,  President 
and  all,  and  take  a  firm,  decided  stand  against  the  present 
course  of  the  president. 

"His  message  indeed  charmed  me;  made  me  forget  my 
miseries.  But  how  long  did  I  enjoy  this  enchantment? 
Here  comes,  in  a  few  days,  the  proclamation,  sweeping  and 
blasting  with  death,  like  the  simoons  of  Arabia  or  the  whirl 
winds  of  the  Great  Sahara. 

"Theretofore,  to  use  an  expression  of  my  friend  P.  P.  Bar- 
bour — theretofore  General  Jackson  professed  to  be  friendly 
to  the  South,  to  Constitutional  and  State  Rights.  This 
proves  that  he  has  no  share  in  the  live  or  dead  stock  in  the 
constitution?  What  is  proof  to  the  point?  This  proclama 
tion  is  hailed  with  the  loudest  hosannas  by  the  coalition  and 
Clay  party.  If  this  is  his  former  doctrine,  how  comes  it 
about  that  every  old  States  Rights  man  abominates  it,  and  it 
meets  so  hearty  a  welcome  by  the  Henry  Clay  party — the 
ultra  tariff,  ultra  bank,  ultra  internal  improvement  parties — 
yes,  and  the  whole  mass  of  political  heretics?*  But  real  true 
believers  will  stand  firm,  even  though  they,  like  the  devil, 
believe  and  tremble.  All  these  combined  make  fearful  odds ; 
but,  zeal  in  this  cause,  this  true  religion — political  religion — 
is  sure  to  triumph.  Small  as  the  minority  may  be,  we  are 
not  too  small  to  triumph,  unless  betrayed  by  those  who  are 
entrusted  with  the  ark  of  the  covenant.  I  was  placed  in  a 
small  minority  before — a  little  proscribed  minority,  when  I 


184  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

took  a  stand  against  the  ^employment  of  standing  armies — 
those  mercenary  troops,  who  are  old  John  Adams's  dogs  of 
war.  There  was  Virginia  to  be  humbled  in  the  dust  and 
ashes.  You  frequently  find  me  in  despicable  minorities. 

"  Who  was  General  Washington — pure  as  he  was — but  a 
man  ?  He  had  been  prevailed  upon  to  put  himself  at  the 
head  of  the  Federal  party.  If  he  had  not  died,  we,  the  Re 
publican  party,  could  never  have  triumphed.  But  for  the 
influence  of  Patrick  Henry,  General  Washington  wrote,  say 
ing  to  him  that  he  was  much  needed ;  solicited  him  to  come 
to  the  General  Assembly.  I  was  at  March  court  '99,  when 
Patrick  Henry  justified  Adams  and  advocated  the  constitu 
tionality  of  the  sedition  law.  I  was  a  stripling  youth,  called 
before  the  public  by  sheer  accident,  and  was  also  elected  by 
sheer  accident.  I  spoke  then  and  contended  against  the 
position,  and  have  been  contending  ever  since  against  it. 
But,  Henry  never  lived  to  get  to  the  House  of  Burgesses, 
and  the  resolution  passed  by  seven  votes,  which,  if  he  had 
gotten  there,  would  have  turned  the  scale.  Patrick  Henry 
was  good  for  seven  votes.  Those  who  do  not  believe  that 
he  was  good  for  seven  votes,  know  very  little  about  the 
character  of  that  distinguished  statesman.  Even  those  who 
were  Federalists,  voted  against  the  laws  and  for  the  resolu 
tions,  for  fear  of  losing  their  popularity.  Yes,  but  for  this 
powerful  struggle,  Adams  would  have  been  reflected;  for 
Jefferson  was  'elected  by  only  four  votes.  We  were  inter 
ested,  and  we  acted,  and  we  triumphed. 

"Now  of  one  thing  I  am  certain;  of  a  fact  I  am  con 
vinced,  and  though  I  would  I  could  not  act  differently;  it  is 
in  the  very  nature  of  things.  It  is  this,  man  always  differs 
in  proportion  as  interest  is  at  stake.  Self  lies  at  the  founda 
tion  of  every  effort.  Notice  the  affairs  of  families.  The 
overseer  is  not  over  the  employer,  but  he  will  get  all  he  can. 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  185 

Whenever  he  can  he  will  inch  upon  the  employer,  and  when 
ever  the  employer  can  he  will  inch  upon  the  overseer.  How 
do  they  bargain  ?  The  general  conditions  are,  you  take  my 
business,  and  I  will  give  you  so  much  meal,  meat  and  money. 
If  you  change  the  condition,  you  change  the  proverb : 
*  What's  sauce  for  the  goose  is  sauce  for  the  gander.'  The 
overseer  makes  a  fortune;  he  becomes  an  employer;  he  im 
mediately  gives  you  a  different  version  of  the  *  *  *  * 

"But,  again,  suppose  I,  by  my  luxury  or  intemperance,  or 
some  other  way,  have  reduced  my  family  to  poverty?  If  I 
am  not  an  overseer  myself,  my  sons  are  turned  over  to  that 
employment.  We  change  our  tone,  and  take  the  version 
that  decides  in  favor  of  the  overseer. 

"  It  is  the  essence  of  human  nature  to  be  guided  by  interest, 
and  when  we  say  that  our  worthy  President  is  swayed  and 
ruled  in  this  way,  we  say  no  more  of  him  than  we  say  of  one 
another.  But  he  has  sinned,  and  I  for  one  will  go  to  him, 
like  Nathan,  and  say,  'Thou  art  the  man,'  though  I  may 
risk  all  like  Nathan  did  with  David. 

"  Mr.  Randolph  spoke  of  the  Cabinet  officers  and  their 
ladies,  and  stated  that  the  proclamation  was  dictated  by  one 
of  the  grandest  scoundrels,  and  put  to  paper  by  the  best 
writer  in  the  United  States,  one  who  fought  with  him  side  by 
side  against  the  old  bank.  He  said  he  was  an  intriguing 
partizan — dyed  in  the  wool — one  who  came  from  the  Empire 
State,  from  that  city,  worse  than  Paris. 

"This  party  cabinet  was  also  distinguished  by  another 
peculiar  epithet;  namely,  the  kitchen  cabinet.  And  as  the 
old  adage  is,  '  no  person  can  touch  pitch  without  being  de 
filed,'  he  did  not  choose  to  dirty  his  fingers  by  touching  that 
dirty  concern ;  but  lest  his  hands,  not  too  clean  now,  should 
be  soiled  in  the  dirty  fat,  he  would  throw  all  the  grease  on 
the  kitchen  fire. 


186  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

"  It  is  probable  that  General  Jackson  is  obnoxious  to  this 
secret  kitchen  influence.  He  is  charged  with  it;  but  for  a 
moment  we  will  suppose  it  false.  Your  enemies  never  charge 
you  without  having  some  failing  in  view,  either  supposed  or 
real.  They  always  therefore  give  just  grounds  for  watchful 
ness.  The  public  functionaries  ought  therefore  to  abstain  or 
touch  lightly  when  they  are  accused,  for  accusers  will  never 
pitch  on  anything  but  faults  to  blast  us,  because  nothing  else 
will  do  that  thing. 

"Not  to  resist  this  Cabinet  counsel  was  Jackson's  coward 
ice,  though  not  naturally  a  coward.  I  well  remember  that  in 
the  worse  speech  I  ever  made,  I  told  you  that  I  chose  Gene 
ral  Jackson  as  the  less  of  two  evils.  I  still  esteem  him  as  a 
noble  man,  and  he  addressed  me  in  so  gentlemanly  a  way 
that  I  could  not  find  it  in  my  heart  to  desert  him  when  I 
found  he  most  needed  help.  I  accepted  the  commission,  but 
had  not  been  in  that  frigid  zone  a  week  before  my  languished 
state  of  health  recalled  me.  But  still  I  fight  under  the  ban 
ner  against  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  that  mischief- 
making  machine.  But  I  left  St.  Petersburg  for  the  climate, 
which,  of  all  others,  most  agrees  with  my  shattered  constitu 
tion,  where  I  hope  to  eke  out  yet  the  last  remains,  of  my  toil 
some  life.  I  could  not  stay  at  the  Russian  court.  How 
could  I  go  to  the  levees  of  the  autocrat,  and  pretend  fami 
liarity  with  men  and  measures  so  repugnant  to  my  views  of 
liberty,  or  right  and  wrong?  After  Poland's  blood  was  shed, 
not  by  Russian  soldiers,  but  by  Russian  mercenaries,  Rus 
sian  gold  and  Russian  paper,  how  could  I  withstand  or  pal 
liate  that  deep  feeling  which  naturally  inspired  my  breast? 
If  I  had  been  writhing  on  the  rack  of  the  Spanish  inquisi 
tion,  it  would  have  been  a  bed  of  roses  in  comparison  of 
what  my  nature  would  have  endured ! 

"  But  it  has  been  alleged  that  I  received  the  emolument 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  187 

and  did  not  perform  the  duty.  But  I  had  a  right  to  the 
outfit,  and  did  not  receive  that.  With  my  own  money  I 
upheld  my  own  credit,  and  the  credit  of  the  government  too. 
I  regarded  the  bill  that  came  up  before  Congress,  on  my  ac 
count,  as  intended  to  pick  a  quarrel  with  me,  instead  of  ad 
vancing  my  pay;  like  a  man  or  boy  put  at  swing — you 
swing  me  and  I'll  swing  you;  or  boys  at  play — you  tickle 
me  and  I'll  tickle  you.  My  good  friend  S's  bill  very  much 
grieved  me.  Who  could  listen  at  B.  and  other  slanderers 
without  seeing  that  they  would  cut  both  ways?  V.  was 
more  honest  than  any,  for  he  came  out  openly.  How  he 
has  managed  to  prove  my  right  you  may  decide. 

"  Suppose  a  case.  I  am  agreeing  for  an  overseer.  I  agree 
to  pay  any  time  he  comes.  Suppose,  hypothetically,  the 
delay  of  the  law.  I  tell  him,  if  he  sues  I  will  carry  him 
through  the  miserable  course  of  our  law — ten  years  or  more. 
I  can  fee  a  lawyer  (he  is  not  able) ;  and  thus  deprive  him  of 
his  just  due.  He  might  take  his  choice.  Would  this  be  an 
act  of  an  honest  man?  No.  This  was  the  act  of  Govern 
ment  with  reference  to  me.  He  may  be  bad,  but  I  promise 
not  to  retaliate.  Let  it  go  with  this  passing  tribute. 

"  But  one  thing  is  certain ;  the  compensation  law  brought 
returning  faith  in  me.  (Here  the  reporter  lost  something 
about  Yazoo,  bank,  Jackson,  Adams,  and  their  doing  shab 
bily,  and  something  about  the  dear  county  where  Nat  Price 
lives.) 

"I  am  not  the  man  that  I  would  wish  to  be.  I  never 
could  suffer  to  be  imposed  upon ;  I  cannot  permit  a  man  to 
pull  my  nose  or  kick  my  backside.  I  am  very  far  from 
being  clear  of  the  same  faults  that  Jackson  has.  I  would 
wish  to  turn  the  one  cheek  when  the  other  was  smitten,  if  I 
•could;  but  I  cannot,  and  I  will  not  be  hypocrite  enough  to 


188  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

pretend  to  it.  For,  if  I  did,  there  would  soon  be  occasion 
to  expose  my  hypocrisy.  I  cannot  dissemble. 

"Now  I  don't  wish  that  anybody  should  rely  on  my  asser 
tion.  I  will  read  something  which  comes  from  the  heads  of 
the  church.  It  comes  from  Mr.  Walsh.  (Reads — no  note 
of  what  was  read.) 

"  Mr.  Randolph  remarked,  that  as  regarded  the  proclama 
tion,  A.  Hamilton  did  not  go  half  as  far;  he,  Hamilton,  was. 
too  honest  a  man.  After  reading,  he  made  some  remarks 
about  a  letter  from  Governor  Hayne  and  his  opinion  of 
the  politics  of  Calhoun — his  decided  opposition  to  Calhoun. 
But  he  was  not  disposed  to  set  the  house  on  fire  to  get  rid 
of  the  rats,  or  a  worse  enemy,  the  chinches. 

"  He  then  introduced  a  letter  from  Governor  Hamilton, 
reluctantly,  he  said,  because  so  complimentary;  but  it  was 
the  partial  effusion  of  a  friend.  They  were  friends  indeed. 
Perhaps  one  cause  of  friendship  was  the  attachment  of  their 
mothers,  who  went  together  through  the  toils  of  the  Revo 
lution.  He  well  knew  her,  Mrs.  Hamilton,  the  S.  &  P.  of  all 
the  chivalry  of  the  State.  But,  partial  as  the  evidence  was, 
it  was  evidence  that  would  be  admitted  in  any  court  of  re 
cord,  especially  in  this  court,  where  presumptive  evidence 
was  well  received.  (Reads.)  After  which  he  produced  what 
he  himself  styled  his  bald  and  disjointed  resolutions.  After 
the  resolutions  were  read,  he  began  again : 

"  I  told  you,  if  not,  I  intended  to  tell  you,  that  how7  much 
soever  I  might  despise  nullification,  yet  I  am  of  the  same 
land  with  the  South  Carolinians,  the  same  to  me  as  to  Ham 
ilton  ;  and  however  it  may  come  to  issue,  I  could  not  desert 
those  whose  interests  were  identical  with  mine.  Lord  Gray 
said  once  in  Parliament,  '  I  must  stand  by  my  order.'  I 
have  no  idea  of  seeing  them  humbled  at  the  feet  of  their 
task-masters.  I  would  as  soon  expect  a  real  honest  man 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  189 

among  the  Henry  Clay  men,  a  Pole  to  join  the  autocrat  to 
fight  for  liberty,  as  to  expect  liberty  in  the  South  and  join 
the  present  dominant  party.  When  do  you  meet  with  any 
from  the  North  who  neglect  to  write  down  our  customs? 
Were  we  to  listen  to  their  religion,  we  would  liberate  our 
slaves,  cure  no  more  tobacco;  but  all  with  them  would  be 
come  natural  abettors  to  tyranny.  I  profess  a  reverence  for 
true  religion;  but  I  declare  to  you,  I  have  as  little  faith  in 
priests  as  any  man  living — and  none  in  priestcraft.  Their 
creed  is,  I  must  labor  and  they  will  swallow.  Some  of  their 
tenets  and  allowed  practices  would  place  the  South  in  the 
condition  of  San  Domingo — in  flames,  and  those  flames 
would  be  quenched  by  the  blood  of  the  inhabitants. 

"  There  is  a  meeting-house  in  this  village,  built  by  a  re 
spectable  denomination.  I  never  was  in  it;  though,  like 
myself,  it  is  mouldering  away.  The  pulpit  of  that  meeting 
house  was  polluted  by  permitting  a  black  African  to  preach 
in  it.  If  I  had  been  there,  I  would  have  taken  the  uncircum- 
cised  dog  by  the  throat,  led  him  before  a  magistrate  and 
committed  him  to  jail.  I  told  the  ladies,  they,  sweet  souls, 
who  dressed  their  beds  with  their  whitest  sheets,  and  un 
corked  for  him  their  best  wine,  were  not  far  from  having' 
mulatto  children. 

"  I  am  no  prophet,  but  I  then  predicted  the  insurrection. 
The  insurrection  came;  was  ever  such  a  panic?  Dismay 
was  spread  through  the  country.  I  despised  it  when  it  was 
here.  To  despise  distant  danger  is  not  true  courage,  but  to 
despise  it  when  you  have  done  all  you  could  to  avoid  it, 
and  it  has  and  would  come,  is  true  courage.  Look  at  the 
conduct  of  our  last  General  Assembly.  The  speeches  that 
were  made  there  were  little  dreamed  of.  What  kind  of 
doctrine  was  preached  on  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Bur 
gesses?  If  I  had  been  there  I  should  have  moved  that 


190  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

the  first  orator  who  took  the  liberty  to  advance  that  doc 
trine,  should  be  arrested  and  prosecuted  by  the  State's  at 
torney." 

He  concluded  by  saying  he  "envied  B.  W.  Leigh;  that 
he  was  completely  discomfited ;  had  only  raised  one  laugh 
on  so  important  a  matter." 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  Mr.  Randolph's  resolutions, 
taken  from  the  manuscript  report  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
meeting,  in  the  well  known  handwriting  of  the  secretary, 
Winslow  Robinson,  Esq.: 

1.  Resolved,  That  while  we  retain  a  grateful  sense  of  the  many  services 
rendered  by  Andrew  Jackson,  Esq.,  to  the  United  States,  we  owe  it  to  our 
country  and  to  our  posterity  to  make  our  solemn  protest  against  many  of 
the  doctrines  of  his  late  proclamation. 

2.  Resolved,  That  Virginia  "  is,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  a  free,  sove 
reign  and  independent  State;"  that  she  became  so  by  her  own  separate 
act,  which  has  been  since  recognized  by  all  the  civilized  world,  and  has 
never  been  disavowed,  retracted,  or  in  any  wise  impaired  or  weakened  by 
any  subsequent  act  of  hers. 

3.  Resolved,  That  when,  for  purposes  of  common  defence  and  common 
welfare,  Virginia  entered  into  a  strict  league  of  amity  and  alliance  with 
the  other  twelve  colonies  of  British  North  America,  she  parted  with  no 
portion  of  her  sovereignty,  although,  from  the  necessity  of  the  case,  the 
authority  to  enforce  obedience  thereto  was,  in  certain  cases  and  for  certain 
purposes,  delegated  to  the  common  agents  of  the  whole  confederacy. 

4.  Resolved,  That  Virginia  has  never  parted  with  the  right  to  recall  the 
authority  so  delegated  for  good  and  sufficient  cause,  and  to  secede  from 
the   confederacy  whenever  she  shall  find  the  benefits  of  union  exceeded 
by  its  evils,  union  being  the  means  of  securing  liberty  and  happiness,  and 
not  the  end  to  which  these  should  be  sacrificed. 

5.  Resolved,  That  the  ALLEGIANCE  of  the  people  of  Virginia  is  due  to 
HER  ;  that  to  her  their  obedience  is  due,  while  to  them  she  owes  protec 
tion  against  all  the  consequences  of  such  obedience. 

6.  Resolved,  That  we  have  seen  with  deep  regret  that  Andrew  Jackson, 
Esq.,  President  of  the  United  States,  has  been  influenced  by  designing 
counselers,  to  subserve  the  purposes  of  their  own  guilty  ambition,  to  dis- 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  191 

avow  the  principles  to  which  he  owed  his  election  to  the  chief  magistracy 
of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  and  to  transfer  his  real  friends 
and  supporters,  bound  hand  and  foot,  to  the  tender  mercies  of  his  and 
their  bitterest  enemies — the  ^///-^-federalists,  #//r#-bank,  ultra -internal 
improvement,  and  Hartford  convention  men — the  habitual  scoffers  at 
States  Rights — and  to  their  instrument — the  venal  and  prostituted  press — 
by  which  they  have  endeavored,  and  but  too  successfully,  to  influence 
and  mislead  public  opinion. 

7.  Resolved,  That  Virginia  will  be  found  her  own  worst  enemy  when 
ever  she  consents  to  number  among  her  friends  those  who  are  never  true 
to  themselves,  but  when  they  are  false  to  their  country. 

8.  Resolved,  That  we  owe  it  to  justice,  while  denouncing  the  porten 
tous  combination  between  General  Jackson  and  the  late  unhallowed  co 
alition  of  his  and  our  enemies,  to  acquit  THEM  of  any  dereliction  of  prin 
ciple,  and  to  acknowledge  that  they  have  but  acted  in  their  vocation. 

9.  Resolved,  That  we  cannot  consent  to  adopt  principles  which  we  have 
always  disavowed,  merely  because  they  have  been  adopted  by  the  Presi 
dent;  and  although  we  believe  that  we  shall  be  in  a  lean  and  proscribed 
minority,  we  are  prepared  again  to  take  up  our  cross,  confident  of  success 
under  that  banner,  so  long  as  'we  keep  the  faith  and  can  have  access  to  the 
public  ear. 

10.  Resolved,  That  while  we  utterly  reprobate  the  doctrine  of  nullifica 
tion,  as  equally  weak  and  mischievous,  we  cannot  for  that  reason  give  our 
countenance  to  principles  equally  unfounded,  and  in  the  highest  degree 
dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  the  people. 

11.  Resolved,    That  we   highly  approve   of  the  mission   of  Benjamin 
Watkins   Leigh,   not  only  as  in    itself  expedient  and  judicious,  but  as 
uniting  upon  the  man  the  best  qualified,  whether  for  abilities,  integrity  and 
principles,  moral  and  political,  beyond  all  others  in  the  commonwealth  or 
in  the  United  States,  for  the  high,  arduous  and  delicate  task  which  has 
been  devolved  upon  him  by  the  unanimous  suffrage  of  the  assembly,  and 
as  we  believe  of  the  people,  and  which  he  alone  is  perhaps  capable  from 
all  these  considerations,  united  in  his  person,  of  discharging  with  success, 
and  restoring  this  confederate  republic  to  its  former  harmony  and  union.'" 

(Signed)  JOHN  RANDOLPH,  of  Roanoke, 

Chairman. 


192  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  official  report  of  the  pro 
ceedings  of  the  meeting,  signed  by  the  secretary,  and 
marked,  "For  Capt.  Wm.  M.  Watkins:" 

CHARLOTTE  COURT-HOUSE,  Feb.  4th,  1833. 

There  was  an  unusually  numerous  collection  of  people  at  Charlotte 
Court-house  tc-day,  it  being  expected  that  the  subject  of  the  proclamation 
would  be  taken  into  consideration,  and  hoped  that  Mr.  Randolph  might 
be  there.  Though  in  a  state  of  the  most  extreme  feebleness,  he  made  his 
appearance  last  night,  and  to  day  at  twelve  o'clock  was  lifted  to  his  seat 
on  the  bench.  He  rose  and  spoke  a  few  minutes,  but  soon  sat  down  ex 
hausted,  and  continued  to  speak  silting,  though  sometimes  for  a  moment 
the  excitement  of  his  feelings  brought  him  to  his  feet.  He  ended  his 
speech  by  moving  a  set  of  resolution?,  of  which  a  copy  is  subjoined. 

On  motion,  these  resolutions  were  referred  to  a  committee  consisting  of 
the  following  gentlemen : 

Colonel  Clement  Carrington,  Captain  Thomas  Pettus,  Henry  A.  Wat- 
kins,  William  M.  Watkins,  Robert  Morton,  Samuel  D.  Morton,  John 
Coleman,  B.  W.  Lester,  George  Hannah,  John  Marshall,  John  Thomas, 
John  H.  Thomas,  Henry  Madison,  Ur.  Isaac  Read,  William  B.  Green, 
Joseph  Friend,  Edward  B.  Fowlkes,  Mathew  J.  Williams,  Samuel  Ven- 
able,  William  Bacon,  John  Booth,  Francis  Barnes,  William  H.  Dennis, 
Richard  Venable,  Jr.,  Joseph  M.  Daniel,  Thomas  F.  Spencer,  Paul  Car 
rington,  John  Daniel,  Charles  Raine,  Benjamin  Marshall,  Colonel  Mar 
shall,  J.  H.  Marshall,  Cornelius  Barnes,  Dr.  Hoge,  Dr.  Bouldin,  Elisha 
Hundley,  Dr.  Patillo,  Dr.  Edwin  Price,  Dr.  Garden,  Samuel  Daniel, 
Winslow  Robinson,  Nicholas  Edmunds,  Major  Gaines,  R.  I.  Gaines,  Henry 
Carrington,  Edward  W.  Henry,  Thomas  T.  Bouldin,  James  W.  Bouldin, 
William  B.  Watkins,  Anderson  Morton,  John  Morton,  Thomas  A.  Mor 
ton,  Martin  Hancock,  D.  B.  Hancock,  Clement  Hancock,  Colonel  H. 
Spencer,  G.  C.  Friend,  Jacob  Morton,  Wyatt  Cardwell,  William  Smith, 
Colonel  Thomas  Read,  Thomas  Read,  Archibald  A.  Davidson,  William 
T.  Scott,  Major  Thomas  Nelson,  Isham  Harvey,  Dr.  Joel  W'atkins,  T.  E. 
Watkins,  Major  Samuel  Baldwin,  Robert  Carrington,  and  John  Randolph 
of  Roanoke. 

Colonel  Clement  Carrington  having  declined  serving,  and  the  commit 
tee  being  called,  Captain  Thomas  Pettus,  J.  Coleman,  J.  Thomas,  J.  H. 


OF   JOHN   RANDOLPH.  193 

Thomas,  Joseph  Friend,  E.  B.  Fowlkes,  William  Bacon,  Colonel  Mar 
shall,  J.  H.  Marshall,  Cornelius  Barnes,  Dr.  Pattillo,  Dr.  Garden,  Nicholas 
Edmunds,  Henry  Carrington,  Edward  W.  Henry,  Thomas  T.  Bouldin, 
Thomas  A.  Morton,  Martin  Hancock,  D.  Hancock,  G.  C.  Friend,  William 
-Smith,  Major  T.  Nelson,  Colonel  J.  Harvey,  Joel  Watkins,  T.  E.  Watkins 
and  Samuel  Baldwin,  were  found  to  be  not  present. 

The  members  present  then  formed  themselves  into  a  committee,  Captain 
Henry  A.  Watkins  in  the  chair,  and  Winslow  Robinson  acting  as  secre 
tary.  Captain  William  M.  Watkins  then  moved  that  the  meeting  be 
adjourned  to  some  future  day,  which  was  lost;  whereupon,  Captain  Wil 
liam  M.  Watkins  withdrew  from  the  committee. 

The  committee  then  proceeded  to  take  the  resolutions  into  consider 
ation.  The  first  four  resolutions  were  adopted  unanimously;  the  fifth  with 
one  djssentient  voice — Mr.  Green. 

On  the  sixth  resolution  there  were  five  dissentient  voices,  Mr.  Paul  Car 
rington,  Mr.  Lester,  Mr.  Madison,  Mr.  John  Daniel,  and  Mr.  Isham  Har 
vey. 

The  seventh  resolution  was  carried  unanimously.  The  eighth  also  was 
•carried,  Mr.  Paul  Carrington  alone  dissenting;  and  the  ninth,  tenth  and 
eleventh  were  adopted  unanimously. 

The  committee  then  rose  and  reported  the  resolutions,  which  were 
adopted  by  the  meeting  with  only  two  dissentient  voices — Colonel  Clement 
Carrington  and  Mr.  R.  W.  Gaines. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  John  Marshall,  it  was  then 

Resolved,  That  copies  of  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  be  sent  for 
publication  to  the  different  presses  in  Richmond,  Petersburg,  Norfolk, 
Lynchburg  and  Fredericksburg ;  and  that  copies  be  also  sent  to  Mr.  Boul 
din,  our  representative  in  Congress  and  his  colleagues,  to  our  Senators,  to 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  to  Benjamin  Watkins  Leigh,  Esq.,  to 
the  Governor  of  South  Carolina,  and  to  Major  General  James  Hamilton, 
commander  of  the  State  troops  of  South  Carolina  in  Charleston. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Whitfield  Read, 

Resolved,  unanimously,  That  the  thanks  of  this  meeting  be  given  to 
Mr.  Randolph  for  his  open  and  decided  support  of  the  rights  of  the  states, 
and  his  strenuous  and  efficient  opposition  to  the  odious  consolidating  doc 
trine  of  the  President's  late  proclamation. 

Mr.  Randolph  then  expressed  his  thanks  in  a  speech  of  considerable 
•length,  in  the  course  of  which  all  the  warmest  sympathies,  which  have  so 


194  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

long  united  him  to  his  old  constituents,  seemed  to  be  awakened,  and  on 
the  breaking  up  of  the  meeting  they  parted  with  feelings  such  as  no  man 
besides  ever  excited. 

WINSLOW  ROBINSON,  Secretary. 

We  thought  proper  to  publish  a  full  list  of  the  names  of 
the  gentlemen  composing  Mr.  Randolph's  "committee  of 
rank,"  if  for  no  other  reason,  to  let  the  rising  generation  see 
who  were  at  that  day  some  of  the  leading  and  most  substan 
tial  citizens  of  the  county  of  Charlotte. 

As  soon  as  the  speaker  concluded  "his  long  taj^t,"  he 
commenced  to  procure  the  passage  of  his  resolutions.  In 
his  speech  he  had  stated  that  he  would  not  presume  to  dic 
tate  to  his  old  constituents.  The  public  are  well  acquainted 
with  Mr.  Randolph's  manner  of  doing  things  in  the  halls  of 
Congress,  and  it  may  gratify  a  laudable  curiosity  to  be  in 
formed  how  he  carried  on  among  his  constituents  at  home. 

Captain was  chairman  of  the  meeting,  but,  we  are 

assured  that  Mr.  Randolph  named  every  member  of  the 
committee.  When  he  stated  that  he  would  not  presume  to 
dictate  to  his  old  constituents,  he  was  at  that  very  time  pre 
paring  a  dose  which  he  alone  could  administer. 

Here  is  a  specimen  of  what  they  had  to  swallow — a  bitter 
pill,  we  are  informed,  to  some : 

"Resolved,  That  we  have  seen  with  deep  regret  that  Andrew  Jacksonr 
Esq.,  President  of  the  United  States,  has  been  influenced  by  designing 
counsellors,  to  subserve  the  purposes  of  their  guilty  ambition,  to  disavow 
the  principles  to  which  he  owed  his  elevation  to  the  chief  magistracy  of 
the  government,  and  to  transfer  his  real  friends  and  supporters,  bound 
hand  and  foot,  to  the  tender  mercies  of  his  and  their  bitterest  enemies — 
the  #//m-Federalist,  #//r#-tariff,  z*#r<z-bank,  ^/^-improvement,  Hartford 
convention  men — the  habitual  scoffers  at  States  Rights." 

This  is  the  sentiment  which  bank,  tariff,  internal  improve 
ment,  Jackson  men  were  required  to  endorse. 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  195 

Mr.  Randolph  preferred  the  driving  process,  but  he  occa 
sionally  flattered  very  adroitly.  Sometimes,  however,  he 
encountered  a  man  who  could  neither  be  seduced  by  his 
flattery  nor  intimidated  by  his  threats. 

When  he  was  getting  up  his  committee,  he  said : 

"Call  Colonel  Clem.  Carrington — the  man  who  shed  his 
blood  at  Eutaw — none  of  your  drunken  stagger-weeds  of 
the  court-yard." 

Colonel  Carrington  soon  made  his  appearance,  with  hat 
in  hand ;  but,  when  requested  to  endorse  the  resolutions,  he 
promptly  said : 

"  I  am  for  Jackson  and  the  Union,  sir,"  and  disappeared. 

Knowing  that  Mr.  William  B.  Green  had  always  been  an 
anti-} ackson  man,  Mr.  Randolph  approached  him  thus : 

"Mr.  Green,  I  know  you  are  dead  shot  against  Jackson, 
and  I  appoint  you  one  of  the  committee." 

Mr.  Green  replied: 

"  I  am  also  dead  shot  against  nullification." 

He  then  commenced  making  explanations,  saying  that 
nullification  was  not  intended,  and  that  all  would  be  right  if 
South  Carolina  took  the  ground  intended  by  the  resolutions. 

Two  or  three  of  the  gentlemen  named  on  the  committee, 
who  had  made  objections,  consented  to  serve,  Mr.  Green 
himself  being  one  of  them. 

Mr.  G.,  a  young  gentleman  of  promise,  and  who  might 
well  have  aspired  to  political  preferment,  suggested  an  alter 
ation  in  one  of  the  resolutions.  Mr.  Randolph  asked  him  if 
every  word  stated  in  the  resolution  was  not  true. 

Mr.  G.  replied,  that  the  facts  might  all  be  true,  but  he  did 
not  like  the  tone  of  the  resolution — perhaps,  the  facts  were 
put  forth  in  rather  too  strong  a  light. 

"You  are  right,  Mr.  G.,"  said  Mr.  Randolph  in  his  pecu 
liar  manner,  "I  have  lost  much  in  my  life  by  telling  the 


196  HOME     REMINISCENCES 

truth.  If  I  were  young,  I  would  pea-vine  it,  too.  I  owe 
Mr.  G.  something,"  said  he,  "alter  the  resolution  to  suit 
him." 

When  the  amendment  was  made,  he  pronounced  the  res 
olution  "a  little  stronger  than  it  was  before." 

The  following  breathes  the  very  essence  of  the  intellectual 
tyrant.  Mr.  Henry  Madison  declined  to  endorse  some  of 
his  resolutions.  Mr.  Randolph  darted  a  piercing  glance 
upon  him,  but  made  no  open  attack,  as  Mr.  Madison  ex 
pected.  But  still  the  presumption  to  differ  with  him 
weighed  upon  his  mind.  For  that  night,  at  supper  with 
a  friend,  he  expressed  his  surprise  that  Mr.  Madison  re 
fused  to  endorse  one  of  his  resolutions — said  he  could  not 
understand  it.  The  gentleman  who  differed  with  him  on 
this  occasion  was  a  man  of  fine  sense  and  considerable  in 
fluence.  The  fact  that  it  was  a  matter  of  surprise  to  him 
that  Mr.  Randolph  did  not  make  an  instantaneous  direct 
attack  upon  him  is  evidence  of  what  everybody  expected 
ivho  had  the  temerity  to  oppose  him.  If  he  came  off  with 
whole  bones  he  was  more  than  satisfied.  If  he  escaped 
unscathed  it  was  a  subject  of  self-gratulation  all  the  days  of 
his  life.  Mr.  Randolph  was  conscious  of  his  mental  supe 
riority,  and  he  had  no  scruples  in  asserting  his  power.  He 
used  various  means  of  maintaining  his  dominion.  He 
could  melt  to  tears,  provoke  to  rashness,  or  drive  to  des 
peration.  And  there  was  another  weapon  which  he  used 
with  great  effect — "severe  repartees  and  sayings,  creating 
great  mirth  at  the  expense  of  others."  His  favorite  weapon 
was  the  whip  and  the  spur.  He  might  have  it  in  his  power 
to  conciliate,  still,  if  possible,  he  preferred  to  ram  the  pill 
down  the  throats  of  his  opponents. 

When  Captain  William  M.  Watkins  was  spoken  to,  he 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  197 

positively  and  promptly  refused  to  act.  Mr.  Randolph  was 
very  indignant,  and  made  use  of  harsh  language. 

Up  to  that  time  Mr.  Randolph  had  been  a  Jackson  man. 
Mr.  Watkins  was  also  a  Jackson  man;  nor  did  he  desert 
him  after  the  issue  of  the  proclamation.  Indeed  he  ex 
pressed  himself  publicly  as  highly  pleased  with  it,  and  full 
of  admiration  for  it.  He  went  to  Mr.  Cardwell's,  where  Mr. 
Randolph  was  staying  at  the  time,  and  asked  Mr.  Randolph 
what  he  thought  of  it.  The  latter  declined  to  express  his 
opinion,  but  went  home  to  prepare  his  resolutions,  and  to 
plan  an  attack  upon  his  friend. 

At  the  meeting,  while  the  resolutions  were  under  con 
sideration,  Mr.  Randolph  took  occasion  to  say,  addressing 
himself  to  Captain  Watkins,  he  did  "not  expect  an  old 
Yazoo  speculator  to  approve  of  them." 

Captain  Watkins  rose  and  made  a  statement  denying  the 
charge.  Mr.  Randolph  looked  him  steadily  in  the  face,  and 
pointing  his  long  bony  finger  at  him,  said: 

"You  are  a  Yazoo  man,  Mr.  Watkins!" 

Mr.  Watkins  rose  again,  agitated  and  embarrassed,  and 
made  some  explanatory  remarks. 

Mr.  Randolph,  with  the  same  deliberation,  simply  re 
peated  : 

"  You  are  a  Yazoo  man,  Mr.  Watkins !" 

Mr.  Watkins  rose  a  third  time,  completely  overcome  with 
mortification  and  chagrin.  As  he  rose,  his  savage  foe 
plunged  the  same  dagger  into  his  breast. 

"You  are  a  Yazoo  man,"  said  he,  when  Mr.  Watkins  left 
the  room,  completely  vanquished  by  the  single  word 
"Yazoo." 

This  scene  reminds  us  forcibly  of  the  description  given 
of  Mr.  Randolph  in  the  "  Recollections"  of  the  Honorable 
James  W.  Bouldin,  who  states  "  that  he  had  all  the  deliber- 


198  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

ation  and  self-possession  and  outward  calmness  that  would 
belong  to  a  man  who  was  cool,  and  he  was  guarded,  but 
his  mind  and  passions  were  roused  to  the  highest  pitch  of 
excitement  within."  He  compares  him  to  "an  enraged  tiger, 
whose  eye  burns  and  flashes  with  fiery  vengeance,  but  who 
prepares  to  make  his  spring  with  the  greatest  deliberation." 

This  inward  boiling  and  outward  coolness  is  forcibly 
illustrated  in  his  conduct  with  regard  to  Captain  Watkins. 
Besides,  Mr.  Randolph  on  this  occasion  displayed  a  very 
bad  quality  of  the  heart.  The  gentleman  against  whom 
the  charge  of  being  concerned  in  the  great  Yazoo  fraud  was 
made  was  entirely  innocent.  He  was  a  high-toned  gentle 
man,  of  the  strictest  integrity,  and  in  solid  abilities  had  no 
superior  in  the  county  of  Charlotte. 

With  regard  to  the  charge  made  against  Captain  Watkins 
by  Mr.  Randolph,  Mr.  William  B.  Green  in  his  recollections 
says : 

"  It  was  but  the  repetition  of  a  similar  charge  made  many 
years  before,  during  the  administration  of  Mr.  Madison, 
when  Captain  Watkins  took  ground  in  favor  of  that  admin 
istration,  and  voted  for  Eppes  against  Mr.  Randolph  in  the 
Congressional  election  in  1809  or  1810.  I  have  never  been 
able  to  learn  the  precise  nature  of  these  speculations,  but 
have  understood  in  a  general  way  that  there  were  two 
classes  of  speculators — one,  a  party  who  had  combined  and 
associated  themselves  together  for  the  purpose  of  corrupt 
ing  and  bribing  the  legislature ;  the  other,  individuals  who 
proposed  to  purchase  land  on  their  own  accounts. 

"Captain  Watkins,  it  was  understood,  belonged  to  the  lat 
ter  class,  and  consequently  was  an  innocent  purchaser,  if, 
indeed,  he  made  any  purchase.  All  that  I  know  with  re 
gard  to  the  matter  is  simply  this :  From  a  very  early  period 
(1807)  I  had  free  access  to  all  the  books,  papers  and  ac- 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  199 

•counts  of  Captain  Watkins,  without  having  seen  the  least 
trace  or  vestige  of  anything  relative  to  the  subject.  And, 
moreover,  Mr.  Randolph  was  at  all  times  (except  at  the 
time  when  he  had  fallen  out  with  Captain  Watkins  on  ac 
count  of  the  vote  given  against  him  for  Eppes)  on  friendly, 
social  and  intimate  terms  with  him,  which  I  think  would  not 
have  been  the  case  had  Mr.  Randolph  really  thought  that 
these  so-called  speculations  Were  derogatory  to  the  character 
and  standing  of  Captain  Watkins.  I  have  thought  it  due  to 
the  memory  of  my  old  friend  and  partner  to  say  thus  much 
on  this  subject." 

The  same  gentleman,  Mr.  Henry  Madison,  to  whom  we 
referred  above,  as  having  refused  to  endorse  one  of  Mr. 
Randolph's  resolutions,  related  to  us  a  little  incident  which 
shows  at  once  what  sway  he  held  in  his  own  county. 

Mr.  Madison  and  his  friend  were  riding  together  in  a 
buggy  to  Lynchburg,  discussing,  all  the  way,  General  Jack 
son's  proclamation,  which  had  just  come  out.  Mr.  Madison 
was  pointing  out  its  consolidating  doctrines,  and  highly 
disapproving  of  them.  His  friend  was  defending  them. 

A  few  days  afterwards,  they  were  both  standing  together 
in  the  committee  room,  considering  Mr.  Randolph's  resolu 
tions.  Presently  they  came  to  one  which  was  too  strong  for 
Mr.  Madison  even  to  endorse. 

Said  he,  to  his  friend,  who  was  swallowing  each  resolution 
whole  as  they  came  to  it:  "You  can't  go  that,  can  you,  after 
all  you  stated  to  me  going  to  Lynchburg?" 

"Yes,"  replied  his  friend,  "let's  swallow  it  all!" 

Mr.  Madison  was  admonished  by  another  friend  that  Mr. 
Randolph  would  "kill  him  off"  completely  for  presuming  to 
differ  with  him  even  in  one  particular. 

"No,"  replied  Mr.  Madison,  "I  am  a  plain  farmer;  not 
conspicuous  at  all ;  he  will  not  disturb  me.  But  you,  who 


200  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

are  an  aspirant  for  political  promotion,  are  the  one  who  has 
cause  to  fear." 

We  have  thus  given  the  reader  the  recollections  of  the  old 
people  of  Charlotte  with  regard  to  the  most  extraordinary 
meeting  of  the  kind,  we  dare  say,  which  ever  occurred  in 
this  or  any  other  country.  We  obtained  the  facts  from  gen 
tlemen  who  were  eye-witnesses  of  the  scene,  and  whose 
statements  may  be  implicitly  relied  on.  As  to  the  accuracy 
of  their  memories,  there  is  little  room  to  doubt,  when  it  is 
borne  in  mind  that  the  most  impressive  man  that  ever  lived 
was  the  chief  actor  in  the  scene. 

Considering  Mr.  Randolph's  really  "dying"  condition, 
the  reader  no  doubt  was  astonished  at  the  able  manner  in 
which  the  resolutions  were  drawn;  and  there  are  some 
striking  passages  in  his  speech :  for  instance,  where  he 
describes  the  proclamation  as  coming  "  sweeping  and  blast 
ing  with  death,  like  the  simoons  of  Arabia,  or  the  whirl 
winds  of  the  Great  Sahara."  No  less  striking  is  the  passage 
in  which  he  speaks  of  his  mind  and  body  being  in  a  whip 
ping  race  to  destruction,  and  it  being  hard  to  tell  which 
rode  the  foremost  horse. 

When  we  came  to  these  remarkable  expressions  in  the 
manuscript  report  of  his  speech,  we  recognized  them  as 
exactly  the  same  that  the  Hon.  James  W.  Bouldin  repeated 
to  us  when  a  boy,  and  which  we  knew  by  heart. 

These  and  other  parts  of  the  speech,  which  we  had 
learned  in  the  same  way,  satisfied  us  of  the  general  accu 
racy  of  the  report. 

The  following  is  another  remark,  which  was  indelibly  im 
pressed  verbatim  upon  the  minds  of  many,  for  long  before 
we  saw  the  report  of  the  speech  we  had  heard  several  gen 
tlemen  repeat  it: 

"  If  I  had  been  there  I  would  have  taken  the  uncircum- 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  201 

cised  dog  by  the  throat,  led  him  before  a  magistrate,  and 
committed  him  to  jail.  I  told  the  ladies,  they,  sweet  souls, 
who  dressed  their  beds  with  their  whitest  sheets,  and  un 
corked  for  him  their  best  wine,  were  not  far  from  having 
mulatto  children." 

The  allusion  made  by  Mr.  Randolph  to  the  position  taken 
by  Patrick  Henry,  with  regard  to  the  Alien  and  Sedition 
law,  reminds  us  of  the  written  statements  of  three  of  the 
leading  citizens  of  Charlotte  in  their  day,  viz:  the  Rev. 
Clement  Read,  Colonel  Robert  Morton  and  Colonel  Clem 
ent  Carrington,  all  of  whom  were  present  and  heard  the 
speech  referred  to  by  Mr.  Randolph.  From  the  certificates 
now  before  us,  of  the  above  named  gentlemen,  we  gather 
the  true  position  of  the  great  orator  of  the  revolution.  De 
clining  to  give  any  opinion  of  the  Alien  and  Sedition  laws, 
he  neither  approved  nor  disapproved  of  them,  his  only 
object  being  to  quiet  the  minds  of  the  people  and  to  pre 
vent  them  from  .resorting  to  unreasonable  methods  to  re 
move  any  grievances  that  they  thought  they  then  labored 
under.  He  decidedly  condemned  the  Virginia  resolutions 
as  tending'  to  civil  war.  During  his  speech,  Colonel  Car 
rington  states  that  he  used  this  language :  "  Let  us  all  go 
together,  right  or  wrong.  If  we  go  into  civil  war,  your 
Washington  will  lead  the  government  armies,  and  who,  I 
ask,  is  willing  to  point  a  bayonet  against  his  breast?" 

The  Rev.  Clement  Read  closes  his  certificate  by  saying, 
he  "believed  Mr.  Henry  lived  and  died  a  true  Republican. "" 

Colonel  Morton  states  that  it  was  the  last  time  that  Mr. 
Henry  appeared  in  public,  and  the  first  time  that  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  appeared  in  public  before  the  people  of  Charlotte. 
Colonel  Carrington  says  the  latter  "  was  not  much  attended 
to." 

No  doubt  a  portion  of  the  audience  left  the  stand  in  dis- 


202  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

gust,  that  such  a  young  and  inexperienced  speaker  should 
rise  in  reply  to  the  great  orator  of  the  revolution ;  but  it  is 
nevertheless  true,  that  some  of  the  crowd  listened  to  Mr. 
Randolph,  and  may  have  been  captivated  by  his  eloquence. 
It  was  honor  enough,  however,  for  the  young  orator  that 
they  listened  to  him  at  all.  It  was  Mr.  Randolph's  moral 
courage  which  is  most  to  be  admired  on  this  occasion; 
there  is  not  a  braver  act  of  the  kind  on  record. 

But  to  return  to  Mr.  Randolph's  last  speech:  In  four 
months  and  twenty  days  from  the  time  that  he  delivered  it 
he  breathed  his  last.  And  this  was  his  last  political  battle. 
In  the  language  of  Mr.  Baldwin :  "  His  political  life  termina 
ted  where  it  began,  in  a  contest  for  States  Rights.  It  began 
by  lifting  his  lance  against  Patrick  Henry,  and  ended  by 
turning  its  point  against  Andrew  Jackson." 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  203 


CHAPTER  XV. 

MR.     RANDOLPH'S    WILL. 

AFTER  the  death  of  John  Randolph,  it  was  ascertained 
that  he  had  left  several  wills.  One  in  the  possession 
of  Dr.  John  Brockenbrough,  written  in  1819;  another 
without  date,  though  written  in  1821,  with  four  codicils 
dated  respectively  on  the  5th  of  December,  1821,  the  3ist  of 
January,  1826,  the  6th  of  May,  1828,  and  the  26th  of  Au 
gust,  1831;  and  yet  another  will,  dated  the  ist  of  Janu 
ary,  1832.  The  first,  for  some  cause,  was  not  admitted  to 
probate,  and  the  last  was  set  aside,  because  he  was  not  con 
sidered  of  sound  mind  at  the  time.  The  will  of  1821,  how 
ever,  after  a  long  contest,  was  finally  established. 

As  a  matter  of  curiosity,  we  give  it  in  full  to  our  readers, 
copied  literally  from  Grattan's  Reports : 

In  the  name  of  God,  Amen. 

I,  John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke,  do  ordain  this  my  last  will  and  testa 
ment,  hereby  revoking  all  other  wills  whatsoever. 

1.  I  give  and   bequeath  all  my  slaves  their  freedom,  heartily  regret 
ting  that  I  have  ever  been  the  owner  of  one. 

2.  I  give  to  my  ex'or  a  sum  not  exceeding  eight  thousand  dollars,  or 
so  much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary  to  transport  and  settle  said  slaves 
to  and  in  some  other  State  or  territory  of  the  U.  S.,  giving  to  all  above 
the  age  of  forty  not  less  than  ten  acres  of  land  each. 

To  my  old  and  faithful  servants,  Essex  and  his  wife  Hetty,  who,  I 
trust,  may  be  suffered  to  remain  in  the  State,  I  give  and  bequeath  three- 
and-a-half  barrels  of  corn,  two  hundred  weight  of  pork,  a  pair  of  strong 
shoes,  a  suit  of  clothes,  and  a  blanket  each,  to  be  paid  them  annually; 


204  HOME     REMINISCENCES 

also,  an  annual  hat  to  Essex,  and  ten  pounds  of  coffee,  and  twenty  of 
brown  sugar. 

To  my  woman  servant  Nancy,  the  like  allowance  as  to  her  mother.  To 
Juba  (alias  Jupiter)  the  same;  to  Queen  the  same;  to  Johnny,  my  body 
servant,  the  same,  during  their  respective  lives. 

I  confirm  to  my  brother  Beverly  the  slaves  I  gave  him,  and  for  which  I 
have  a  reconveyance. 

I  bequeath  to  John  Randolph  Clay  four  hundred  dollars  annually  to 
complete  his  education,  until  he  shall  have  arrived  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
four  years,  earnestly  exhorting  him  never  to  eat  the  bread  of  idleness  or 
dependence, 

I  bequeath  to  my  namesake,  John  Randolph  Bryan,  my  gold  watch, 
chain  and  seals,  and  the  choice  of  my  horses. 

I  bequeath  to  his  brother  Thomas  the  choice  of  two  of  my  horses. 

To  William  Leigh,  of  Halifax,  I  bequeath  to  him  and  his  heirs  for 
ever  all  the  land  on  which  I  live,  lying  between  the  Owen's  ferry  road 
and  Carrington's,  Cooke's,  Lipscomb's  and  Morton's  lines.  Also,  the 
books,  plate,  linen,  household  and  kitchen  furniture,  liquors,  stock,  tools, 
and  everything  as  it  now  stands,  hereby  appointing  him  my  sole  executor. 
And  I  do  desire  that  he  may  not  be  required  to  give  security,  or  to  make 
any  inventory  of  anything  here ;  that  is,  at  my  mansion-house  or  the  mid 
dle-quarter. 

(Cut  out  in  the  original.)  B.  Dudley,  all  the  interest  I  have  under  the 
will  of  Mrs.  Martha  Corran. 

My  interest,  under  the  will  of  Mrs.  Judith  Randolph,  I  desire  my  exe 
cutor  to  sell  if  he  shall  see  fit,  but  not  otherwise.  / 

The  land  above  the  Owen's  ferry  road  and  the  lower  quarter,  and  the 
land  I  bought  of  the  Reads,  to  be  sold  at  my  said  executor's  discretion, 
and  whatever  m  (cut  out  in  the  original)  y  debts  I  give  and  bequeath  to 
Francis  Scott  Key  and  the  Rev.  Wm.  Meade,  to  be  disposed  of  towards 
bettering  the  condition  of  my  manumitted  slaves. 

I  have  not  included  my  mother's  descendants  in  my  will,  because  her 
husband,  besides  the  whole  profits  of  my  father's  estate  during  the  mi 
nority  of  my  brother  and  myself,  has  contrived  to  get  to  himself  the  slaves 
given  by  my  grandfather  Bland,  as  her  marriage  portion  when  my  father 
married  her,  which  slaves  were  inventoried  at  my  father's  death  as  part  of 
his  estate,  and  were  as  much  his  as  any  that  he  had.  One-half  of  them, 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  205 

now  scattered  from  Maryland  to  Mississippi,  were  entitled  to  freedom  at 
•my  brother  Richard's  death,  as  the  other  would  have  been  at  mine. 

Witness  my  hand  and  seal. 

The  name  (cut  out  in  the  original.)  [SEAL.] 

In  the  presence  of 

RICHARD  RANDOLPH,  JR. 

Codicil  to  this  my  will,  made  the  5th  day  of  December,  1821.  I  re 
voke  the  bequest  to  T.  B.  Dudley,  and  bequeath  the  same  to  my  execu 
tor,  to  whom  also  I  give  in  fee  simple  all  my  lots  and  houses  in  Farmville, 
and  every  other  species  of  property  whatever  that  I  die  possessed  of, 
saving  the  aforesaid  specifications  in  my  will. 

(The  name  cut  out  of  the  original.) 

AMELIA  COUNTY. 

The  reason  of  the  above  revocation  I  have  communicated  to  Wm.  J. 
Barksdale,  Esq. 

The  codicil  of  1826. 

In  the  name  of  God,  Amen.  I,  John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke,  being  of 
sound  mind  and  memory,  but  of  infirm  health,  do  ordain  this  codicil  to 
my  last  will  and  testament,  now  in  the  possession  of  Wm.  Leigh,  Esquire, 
of  Halifax  county,  Virginia,  executor  thereof,  which  said  appointment  I 
do  hereby  confirm,  with  all  the  bequests  made  to  him  therein,  and  be 
quests  to  or  for  the  benefit  of  all,  each  and  every  of  my  slaves,  whether 
by  name  or  otherwise,  and  all  bequests  to  him  and  them  which  may  be 
contained  in  my  codicil  to  my  last  will.  I  make  the  same  provision  for 
my  body  servant  John  that  I  made  in  my  will  for  his  father  Essex,  and 
the  same  provision  for  the  said  John's  wife  Betsy  that  I  made  for  Hetty, 
the  wife  of  Essex  aforesaid,  and  similar  provision  for  my  man  servant 
Juba,  and  his  wife  Celia,  and  the  same  for  mulatto  Nancey  at  the  Lower 
Quarter,  Archer's  wife.  And  I  humbly  request  the  General  Assembly 
(the  only  request  that  I  ever  preferred  to  them)  to  let  the  above  named, 
and  such  other  of  my  old  and  faithful  slaves  as  desire  it,  to  remain  in  Vir 
ginia,  recommending  them,  each  and  all,  to  the  care  of  my  said  ex'or, 
who  I  know  is  too  wise,  just  and  humane,  to  send  them  to  Liberia,  or  any 
other  place  in  Africa,  or  the  West  Indies. 


206  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

I  revoke  all  and  every  bequest  in  my  said  will,  or  in  any  former  codicil 
thereto  (except  as  aforesaid,  to  my  executor  William  Leigh,  and  my  slaves,, 
whether  by  name  or  otherwise),  of  every  description  whatsoever,  whether 
of  my  own  proper  estate,  or  in  expectancy  or  reversion  from  the  Bland 
and  Bizarre  estate,  or  from  any  other  contingency  or  source  whatsoever. 
These  reversions  or  remainders,  or  executor's  devises,  or  whatsoever  the 
law  chooses  to  call  them,  I  bequeath  to  my  said  executor,  as  a  fund  to  be 
used  at  his  discretion  for  the  benefit  of  my  slaves  aforesaid,  the  surplus,  if 
any,  to  be  his  own. 

I  also  give  and  bequeath  to  the  said  William  Leigh,  my  executor,  the 
land  that  I  bought  of  Pleasant  Lipscomb's  estate,  to  him  and  his  heirs 
forever. 

I  also  give  and  bequeath  to  my  said  executor  and  his  heirs  forever  the 
lot  of  fifty-three  acres  of  land  lying  at  the  deep  gut  on  Staunton  river,  in 
Halifax  county,  that  I  bought  of  William  Sims  Daniel,  and  I  request  my 
said  executor  not  to  sell  or  lease  the  same,  but  to  work  it  in  three  shifts, 
and  to  enable  him  to  do  so,  I  give  and  bequeath  to  him  the  lot  of  one 
hundred  and  seventy-five  acres  of  land  in  Halifax  county,  which  I  also 
bought  of  William  Sims  Daniel,  to  have  and  to  hold  during  his  natural 
life,  and  at  his  decease  to  that  one  of  his  children  to  whom  he  shall  be 
queath  the  aforesaid  lot  of  fifty-three  acres  at  the  deep  gut. 

I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  friend,  Thomas  H.  Benton,  all  that  part  of 
the  tract  of  land  that  I  bought  of  Jonathan  Read's  heirs,  that  lies  on  the 
south-eastern  side  of  Little  Roanoke,  containing  about  six  hundred  acres, 
as  a  mark  of  my  regard  to  one  whose  friendship  towards  me  was  not  ex 
pressed  merely  in  words.  I  also  give  him  my  large  pistols,  made  by 
Woydon  &  Burton. 

To  my  friend,  Dr.  John  Brokenbrough,  I  leave  all  my  plate  made  by 
Rundle,  Bridge  &  Rundle,  viz :  I  tea  pot,  one  coffee  pot,  I  sugar  dish  and 
tongs,  two  tureens,  4  sauce  dishes.  All  the  rest  and  residue  of  my  plate, 
furniture  of  every  sort,  plantation  utsensils,  &c.,  I  give  to  my  said  execu 
tor,  Wm.  Leigh,  and  all  my  books,  maps,  charts,  pictures,  prints,  &c., 
except  three  folio  manuscript  volumes,  bound  in  parchment,  which  I 
bequeath  to  the  master  and  fellows  (and  their  successors)  of  Trinity  Col 
lege,  Cambridge,  old  England,  the  first  college  of  the  first  University  of 
the  world. 

To  my  friend  William  J.   Barksdale,  of  Haw  Branch,  Esquire,  I  be- 


OF   JOHN   RANDOLPH.  207 

queath  my  new  English  saddle  and  bridle,  my  silver  spurs,  my  new  Eng 
lish  boots  and  shoes,  two  pair  each,  my  gold  watch  made  by  Baiwese, 
with  the  chain  and  seals,  except  the  oldest  seal  with  the  Randolph  arms 
and  motto  niladmirari,  which  I  leave  to  R.  Kidder  Randolph,  of  Rhode 
Island. 

I  also  leave  to  the  said  W.  J.  Barksdale  the  choice  of  any  of  my  mares 
or  fillies. 

I  leave  to  Edmond  Irby,  of  Nottoway,  the  next  choice  of  my  mares  or 
fillies,  and  any  one  of  my  horses  or  colts,  to  be  selected  by  himself;  also, 
my  double  barrel  gun. 

To  Peyton  Randolph,  of  Buck  river,  Prince  Edward,  I  leave  my  small 
cockney  gun  by  Mortimer. 

All  the  rest  and  residue  of  my  estate,  real  or  personal,  I  leave  to  my 
executor,  Wm.  Leigh,  hereby  directing  that  no  inventory  or  appraisement 
be  made  of  my  estate,  and  that  no  security  shall  be  required  of  my  said 
executor  for  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  trust  reposed  in  him — his  own 
character  being  the  best  security,  and  where  that  is  wanting,  all  other  is 
unavailing. 

In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  affixed  my  seal 
(the  following  interlineations  and  expungings  being  first  made:  in  the 
second  paragraph  the  word  "Essex"  interlined;  in  the  third  paragraph 
the  word  "former"  interlined,  and  the  word  "or"  expunged;  and  in  the 
7th  paragraph  the  words,  "  and  tongs"  interlined)  this  thirty-first  day  of 
January,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  twenty-six  (the  whole  of  this 
codicil  being  written  in  my  own  hand). 

JOHN  RANDOLPH,  of  Roanoke,     [SEAL.] 

In  presence  of 

M.  ALEXANDER, 
NATH.  MACON. 

MEMORANDUM. — The  folio  volumes  of  MS.  bound  in  parchment,  con 
taining  the  records,  &c.,  of  the  old  London  company. 

The  Codicil  of  1828. 

Being  in  great  extremity,  but  in  my  perfect  senses,  I  write  this  codicil 
to  my  will  in  the  possession  of  my  friend  Wm.  Leigh,  of  Halifax  county,. 
Esquire,  to  declare  that  will  is  my  sole  last  will  and  testament,  and  that  if 


208  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

any  other  be  found  of  subsequent  date,  whether  will  or  codicil,  I  do 
-hereby  revoke  the  same. 

Witness  my  hand  and  seal. 

JOHN  RANDOLPH,  of  Roanoke,     [SEAL.] 
May  6,  1828. 

Witness, 

EDMUND  MORGAN, 
Jo.  M.  DANIEL, 
ROBERT  CARRINGTON. 

N.  B. — When  I  was  about  to  embark  for  Europe,  in  1822, 1  did  write  a 
codicil  on  board  the  steamboat  that  was  carrying  me  to  the  packet  ship 
Amity,  which  codicil,  by  my  direction,  Mr.  Leigh  destroyed. 

Since  writing  the  above,  it  has  occurred  to  me  that  the  will  referred  to, 
as  being  in  Mr.  Leigh's  possession,  makes  no  disposition  of  the  land  that 
I  purchased  of  Walter  Coles  and  Letty  his  wife;  also  the  land  I  bought 

of  Daniel,  consisting  of  two  small  tracts  in  Halifax;  also,  of  the 

land  purchased  of  Pleasant  Lipscomb's  heirs.  Now  this  writing  wit- 
nesseth,  that  I  give  and  bequeath  the  whole  of  the  above  recited  lands, 
purchased  since  the  date  of  my  will  aforesaid,  to  William  Leigh,  Esquire, 
my  faithful  friend,  who  has  given  me  aid  and  comfort,  not  with  words 
only,  but  by  deeds. 

I  also  give  and  bequeath  to  him  and  his  heirs  forever,  not  each  and 
every  of  the  aforesaid  tracts  of  land,  but  all  the  property  of  every  descrip 
tion  and  kind  whatsoever  that  I  may  have  acquired  since  the  date  of  that 
will  aforesaid. 

Witness  my  hand  and  seal  this  same  sixth  day  of  May,  1828. 

JOHN  RANDOLPH,  of  Roanoke,     [SEAL.] 

EDMUND  MORGAN, 
Jo.  M.  DANIEL, 
ROBT.  CARRINGTON. 

In  the  will  above  recited,  I  give  to  my  said  ex'or,  Wm.  Leigh,  the 
refusal  of  the  land  above  Owen's  (now  Clark's)  ferry  road,  at  a  price  that 
I  then  thought  very  moderate,  but  which  a  change  in  the  times  has  ren 
dered  too  high  to  answer  my  friendly  intentions  towards  my  said  executor 
in  giving  him  that  refusal.  I  do,  therefore,  so  far,  but  so  far  only,  modify 


OF   JOHN   RANDOLPH.  209 

my  said  will  as  to  reduce  that  price  50  per  cent. ;  in  other  words,  one- 
half,  at  which  he  may  take  all  the  land  above  the  ferry  road  that  I  in 
herited  from  my  father,  all  that  I  bought  of  the  late  John  Daniel,  de 
ceased,  and  of  Tom  Beaseley,  Charles  Beaseley,  and  others  of  that  name 
and  family,  this  last  being  the  land  that  Gabriel  Beaseley  used  to  have  in 
possession,  and  whereon  Beverley  Tucker  lived,  and  which  I  hold  by 
deed  from  him  and  his  wife,  of  record  in  Charlotte  county  court. 
Witness  my  hand  and  seal day  and  year  aforesaid. 

JOHN  RANDOLPH,  of  Roanoke,     [SEAL.J 

(The  words,  "but  so  far  only,"  and  the  word  "from"  in  the  preceding 
page,  first  interlined.) 

Witness, 

EDMUND  MORGAN, 
Jo.  M.  DANIEL, 
ROBT.  CARRINGTON. 

As  lawyers  and  courts  of  law  are  extremely  addicted  to  making  wills 
for  dead  men,  which  they  never  made  when  living,  it  is  my  will  and  de 
sire  that  no  person  who  shall  set  aside,  or  attempt  to  set  aside,  the  will 
above  referred  to,  shall  ever  inherit,  possess  or  enjoy  any  part  of  my  estate, 

real  or  personal. 

JOHN  RANDOLPH,  of  Roanoke,    [SEAL.] 

Teste, 

ROBT.  CARRINGTON, 

EDMUND  MORGAN, 
Jo.  M.  DANIEL. 

Codicil  of  1831. 

On  the  eve  of  embarking  for  the  U.  S.,  considering  my  very  feeble 
health,  to  say  nothing  of  the  dangers  of  the  seas,  I  add  this  codicil  to  my 
last  will  and  testament  and  the  codicils  thereto,  affirming  them  all,  except 
so  far  as  they  may  be  inconsistent  with  the  following  disposition  of  my 
estate : 

i.  It  is  my  will  and  desire  that  my  dear  niece,  Elizabeth  Tucker  Bryan, 
shall  have  my  lower  quarter,  with  the  lands  purchased  of  Coles  and  wife 
and  of  Allen  Gillian's  estate,  with  the  mill;  and  I  do  hereby  bequeath 
the  same  to  her  and  her  heirs  forever. 


210  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

2.  To  my  brother,  Henry  St.  George  Tucker,  I  give  and  bequeath  all 
my  Bushy  Forrest  estate,  on  both  sides  of  Little  Roanoke,  bought  of  the 
Reads,  and  all  my  interest  in  the  estate  of  Mrs.  Martha  Corran,  and  my 
lots  and  houses  in  Farmville. 

3.  I  have  upwards  of  two  thousand  pounds  sterling  in  the  hands  of 
Barring  Brothers  &  Co.,  of  London,  and  upwards  of  one  thousand  pounds 
of  like  money  in  the  hands  of  Gowane  Marx;  this  money  I  leave  to  my 
ex'r,  Wm.  Leigh,  as  a  fund  for  carrying  into  execution  my  will  respecting 
my  slaves.     And  in  addition  to  the  provision  which  I  have  made  for  my 
faithful  servant  John,  sometimes  called  John  White,  I  charge  my  whole 
estate  with  an  annuity  to  him  during  his  life  of  fifty  dollars;  and,  as  the 
only  favor  that  I  ever  asked  of  any  government,  I  do  entreat  the  Assembly 
of  Virginia  to  permit  the  said  John  and  his  family  to  remain  in  Virginia ;, 
and  I  do  earnestly  recommend  him  and  them  to  my  executor  aforesaid 
and  to  my  dear  brother  and  niece  aforesaid. 

4.  My  plate  and  library  I  leave  to  my  dear  niece,  E.  T.  Bryan. 

Witness  my  hand,  in  Warwick  street,  Charing  Cross,  London,  this  twen 
ty-ninth  day  of  August,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-two,  to 
which  I  have  also  appended  my  seal. 

JOHN  RANDOLPH,  of  Roanoke.     [L.  S.] 
(Endorsement  on  the  envelope)     J.  R.,  of  R. 
In  case  of  accident,  to  be  sent  to  the  U.  S. 

The  will  of  January  3ist.  1832. 

In  the  name  of  God,  Amen.  I,  John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke,  in  the 
county  of  Charlotte  and  Commonwealth  of  Virginia,  do  ordain  and  ap 
point  this  my  last  will  and  testament,  hereby  revoking  all  other  wills  and 
testaments  and  codicils  whatsoever,  in  the  manner  and  form  following, 
that  is  to  say :  On  this  first  day  of  January,  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  thirty  two,  to  which  I  have  set  my  hand  and  affixed  my  seal,  binding 
my  heirs  and  assigns  forever: 

I  give  and  bequeath  all  my  estate,  real  and  personal,  in  possession  or  ac 
tion,  reversion  or  remainder,  to  John  C.  Bryan,  only  son  of  John  Randolph 
Bryan  and  Elizabeth  Coalter  his  wife,  daughter  of  my  dear  sister  Fanny,  for 
and  during  the  life  of  the  said  John  C.  Bryan,  with  remainder  to  his  eldest 
son  in  fee  simple,  to  him  and  his  heirs  forever :  and  in  defect  of  such  issue, 


OF  JOHN   RANDOLPH.  211 

then  to  the  son  of  Henry  St.  George  Tucker,  called  John  Randolph  after 
me,  for  and  during  his  natural  life,  with  remainder  to  his  eldest  son ;  and 
in  defect  of  any  such  issue,  then  to  Tudor  Tucker,  brother  of  the  afore 
said  Randolph  Tucker,  for  and  during  his  natural  life,  with  remainder  to 
his  eldest  son. 

And  I  do  hereby  appoint  my  friends,  Wm.  Leigh,  of  Halifax,  and  my 
brother,  Henry  St.  George  Tucker,  president  of  the  Court  of  Appeals, 
executors  of  this  my  last  will  and  testament;  requiring  them  to  sell  all 
the  slaves  and  other  perishable  or  personal  property,  and  vest  the  proceeds 
in  bank  stock  of  the  bank  of  the  United  States ;  and  in  default  of  there 
being  no  such  bank  (which  may  God  grant  for  the  safety  of  our  liberties), 
in  the  English  three  per  cent,  consols;  and  in  case  of  there  being  no  such 
stocks  (which  also  may  God  grant  for  the  safety  of  old  England},  then  in 
the  United  States  three  per  cent,  stock;  or  in  defect  of  such  stock,  in 
mortgages  on  land  in  England. 

From  the  sale  of  my  perishable  property  I  except  my  library,  books, 
maps,  charts  and  engravings  included,  my  pictures,  plate,  household  linen, 
and  the  furniture  of  my  bed  chamber  in  the  old  house,  and  all  the  furni 
ture  in  the  new  house,  wines,  together  with  such  other  articles  as  my  said 
ex'ors  may  deem  proper  to  keep  for  the  benefit  of  the  heirs.  And  my 
will  and  desire  is,  that  my  said  executors  may  select  from  among  my 
slaves  a  number  not  exceeding  one  hundred  for  the  use  of  the  heir;  the 
remainder  to  be  sold.  I  also  desire  that  my  Bushy  Forest  tract  of  land 
may  be  sold  and  made  chargeable  with  such  debts  and  legacies  as  here 
after  I  may  see  fit  to  give  when  I  shall  have  more  leisure  to  make  my  will ; 
this  being  made  in  consequence  of  having  cancelled  a  former  will  this 
night  in  presence  of  Wm.  Leigh  aforesaid,  the  sole  executor  under  that 
will,  and  joint  executor  under  this  will,  which  I  make  to  guard  against 
the  possibility  of  dying  intestate. 

I  have  in  the  bank  of  Virginia  upwards  of  20,000  dollars;  of  which 
sum  I  desire  payment  to  be  made  for  the  land  purchased  by  me  the  day 
before  yesterday  of  Elisha  E.  Hundley ;  and  I  bequeath  the  remainder  to 
be  equally  divided  between  my  said  executors,  Wm.  Leigh  and  H.  S.  G. 
Tucker,  Esquires :  and  I  farther  charge  my  Bushy  Forest  estate  with  a 
farther  legacy  to  John  Randolph  Leigh,  youngest  son  of  Wm.  Leigh  afore 
said,  of  five  thousand  dollars. 

And  it  is  my  will  and  desire  that  no  inventory  be  taken  of  my  estate, 
except  of  my  slaves  and  horses,  and  that  no  security  be  given  by  or  re- 


212  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

quired  of  my  said  executors,  having  full  faith  in  their  honor;  neither 
shall  they  be  held  to  account  to  any  court  or  person  whatsoever  for  their 
discharge  of  this  trust  so  confided  by  me  in  them. 

To  Dr.  John  Brokenbrough  I  leave  all  my  French  plate  now  in  Rich 
mond  at  J.  P.  Taylor's,  also  my  chariot  and  harness  and  the  horses  called 
John  Bull  and  Jonathan,  alias  John  W. 

To  John  Wickham,  Esquire,  my  best  of  friends,  without  making  any 
professions  of  friendship  for  me,  and  the  best  and  wisest  man  I  ever  knew 
except  Mr.  Macon,  I  bequeath  my  mare  Flora  and  my  stallion  Gascoigne ; 
together  with  two  old-fashioned,  double-handled  silver  cups,  and  two 
tankards  unengraved — the  cups  are  here,  and  the  tankards  or  cans  in 
Richmond — and  I  desire  that  he  will  have  his  arms  engraved  upon  them, 
and  at  the  bottom  these  words:  "From  J.  R.,  of  Roanoke,  to  John  Wick- 
ham,  Esquire,  as  a  token  of  the  respect  and  gratitude  which  he  never 
ceased  to  feel  for  unparallelled  kindness,  courtesy  and  services." 

To  Nathaniel  Macon  I  give  and  bequeath  my  oldest  high  silver  candle 
sticks,  my  silver  punch  ladle  with  whalebone  handle,  a  pair  of  silver 
cans  with  handles  and  my  crest  engraved  thereon,  my  hard  metal  dishes 
that  have  my  crest  and  J.  R.  in  old  English  letters  engraved  thereon,  also 
the  plates  with  the  same  engraving,  the  choice  of  four  of  my  best  young 
mares  and  geldings,  and  the  gold  watch  by  Roskell  that  was  Tudor's  with 
the  gold  chain :  and  may  every  blessing  attend  him — the  best,  purest  and 
wisest  man  that  I  ever  knew.  To  my  brother  Henry  Tucker,  my  gold 
watch,  by  Bauwise.  The  chronometer  by  Arnold,  and  knives  and  forks 
&c.,  from  Rogers,  to  go  to  the  heir.  To  Wm.  Leigh,  all  duplicates  of 
my  books,  and  my  brood  mare's  last  chance,  and  Amy.  To  H.  Tucker, 
young  Whalebone  and  young  Never  Tire,  also  Topaz  and  Janus  and  Ca 
milla  and  Marcella. 

JOHN  RANDOLPH,  of  Roanoke.     [        ] 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  213 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

MR.  RANDOLPH'S  SANITY  DISCUSSED. 

IN  his  Biography  of  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke,  Mr.  Saw 
yer  has  this  observation :  "  It  might  be  expected  of  him  to 
decide  the  important  question  of  Mr.  Randolph's  sanity." 
We  must  confess  that  we,  at  least,  expected  this  of  him. 
Nor  are  our  expectations,  we  think,  unreasonable.  A  writer 
who  devotes  more  than  a  hundred  pages  to  a  particular  sub 
ject  should  certainly  inform  his  readers  whether  his  hero  be 
in  his  senses.  But  Mr.  Sawyer,  we  are  sorry  to  say,  con 
fesses  himself  incompetent  to  judge.  But,  he  adds,  "  on  the 
main  point,  that  on  which  the  happiness  of  our  whole  lives 
in  this  world  depends,  the  promotion  of  his  self-interest  and 
pecuniary  independence,  if  perfect  success  is  the  test  of 
sanity,  he  must  stand  acquitted  on  the  charge  of  insanity." 
Mr.  Bouldin,  it  appears,  agrees  with  Mr.  Sawyer  that  Mr. 
Randolph's  practical  skill  and  judgment  in  business  ought 
to  be  made  a  test.  For,  we  remember,  when  Mr.  Wick- 
ham  remarked  that  he  thought  "there  was  always  a  vein  of 
madness  in  him,"  he  asked  him,  "  how  he  accounted  for  his 
paying  off  those  mortgages  and  interest  and  buying  as 
much  more  property  during  thirty  years,  with  negroes  and 
overseers  only." 

"Some,"  says  Mr.  Baldwin,  "set  Mr.  Randolph  down  as  a 
madman,  whose  sagacity  was  only  the  cunning  of  a  lunatic, 
and  his  brilliancy  only  the  occasional  gleamings  of  light 
which  are  fitfully  emitted  from  the  darkness  of  a  mad-house. 


214  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

But  that  others  viewed  him  as  a  man  eccentric  indeed,  but 
whose  acuteness  of  thought,  deep  insight  into  the  motives  of 
men  and  the  affairs  of  government,  and  whose  perspicuity 
and  prudence  were  nearly  miraculous." 

The  Hon.  James  W.  Bouldin,  from  whose  manuscript  we 
have  so  often  quoted,  says  he  once  asked  Rev.  John  Robin 
son  :  How  is  it  that  you  all  have  found  out  at  last  that  Mr. 
Randolph  is  a  fool?  He  replied:  "I  am  ashamed  of  that;  I 
know  some  of  us  say  so ;  I  wish  he  had  less  sense ;  he  never 
makes  one  of  his  great  speeches  but  it  shakes  the  whole 
continent — every  man,  woman  and  child  can  repeat  some  of 
it.  Some  of  his  conceptions,  however,  though  vast  and 
powerful,  are  such,  I  think,  as  no  mind  entirely  sane  would 
have." 

The  learned  judges  to  whom  was  referred  the  question  of 
his  sanity,  after  the  most  thorough  and  patient  investigation 
of  the  whole  subject,  decided  that  he  was  of  sound  and  dis 
posing  mind  when  he  wrote  his  wrill  in  1821,  but  insane 
when  he  wrote  the  will  of  1832.  The  reader  will  remember 
the  testimony  of  Mr.  Daniel,  one  of  the  witnesses  in  that 
celebrated  cause.  He  represents  Mr.  Randolph  as  acting  on 
some  occasions,  in  the  most  singular  manner;  but  frequently 
making  use  of  the  most  striking  language,  full  of  meaning 
and  consistent.  When  asked  the  direct  question,  did  he 
think  he  was  in  a  fit  state  of  mind  to  make  the  acknowledg 
ments  to  his  will,  he  replied:  "He  was  excited  by  drinking, 
but  capable,  in  his  estimation,  of  transacting  business." 
This  truthful  witness  had  the  very  best  opportunity  of  form 
ing  a  correct  opinion,  as  he  lived  very  near  him  and  had  a 
great  deal  to  do  with  him. 

Mr.  Benton  said,  "his  opinion  was  fixed  of  occasional 
temporary  aberrations  of  mind ;  and  during  such  periods  he 
would  do  and  say  strange  things,  but  always  in  his  own 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  215 

way — not  only  method,  but  genius  in  his  fantasies ;  nothing 
to  bespeak  a  bad  heart;  only  exaltation  and  excitement." 
"The  most  brilliant  talks,"  continued  he,  "that  I  ever  heard 
from  him  came  forth  on  such  occasions — a  flow  for  hours  (at 
one  time  seven  hours)  of  copious  wit  and  classic  allusion — 
a  perfect  scattering  of  the  diamonds  of  the  mind." 

He  tells  us  that  he  once  sounded  Mr.  Randolph  to  dis 
cover  what  he  thought  of  his  own  case.  He  heard  him 
repeating  those  lines  of  Johnson  on  "Senility  and  Imbe 
cility." 

"  In  life's  last  scenes  what  prodigies  surprise, 
Fears  of  the  brave  and  follies  of  the  wise; 
From  Marlborough's  eyes  the  streams  of  dotage  flow, 
And  Swift  expires,  a  driveller  and  a  show." 

"  Mr.  Randolph,"  said  Mr.  Benton,  "  I  have  several  times 
heard  you  repeat  those  lines,  as  if  they  could  have  an  appli 
cation  to  yourself,  while  no  person  can  have  less  reason  to 
fear  the  fate  of  Swift."  "  I  have  lived  in  dread  of  insanity," 
replied  Mr.  Randolph. 

Many  a  man  with  fewer  mental  troubles  and  mental  dis 
eases  than  Mr.  Randolph  has  lived  in  dread  of  the  same 
thing,  but  whose  apprehensions  were  never  realized.  We 
are  not  at  all  surprised  that  a  man  of  peculiar  genius,  espe 
cially  one  who  looks  narrowly  into  the  machinery  of  his 
own  mind,  should  live  in  dread  of  insanity.  It  is  no  wonder 
that  those  who  think  "long  and  darkly,"  whose  feelings  are 
morbidly  active,  who  are  so  constituted  as  to  ,  dwell  upon 
a  particular  subject  with  intense  interest,  should  be  fearful  of 
the  effects  of  overaction. 

Mr.  Baldwin  thought  him  insane  at  times.  Mr.  Garland, 
on  the  contrary,  speaking  of  his  conduct  on  the  occasion  of 
the  funeral  of  Commodore  Decatur,  says:  "The  cold  and 
heartless  world,  that  is  unconscious  of  anything  else  but  a 


216  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

selfish  motive,  and  the  ignorant  multitude  that  followed  the 
funeral  pageant  with  gaping  mouth,  agreed  on  a  common 
explanation  of  his  extravagance  by  proclaiming,  'the  man 
is  mad.' " 

There  seems  to  be  a  great  difference  of  opinion  both  as  to 
Mr.  Randolph's  sanity  and  his  habit  of  drinking  to  excess. 
Mr.  Benton  says,  he  "  never  saw  him  affected  by  wine."  The 
reader  will  remember  what  the  Hon.  James  W.  Bouldin  said 
on  this  subject.  He  emphatically  states,  that  from  the  first 
time  he  ever  saw  him  to  the  last,  say  from  1808  or  '9  till  his 
death,  he  drank  very  hard,  great  quantities  of  intoxicating 
drink." 

The  reader  will  also  remember  the  manner  in  which  Mr. 
Bouldin  attempts  to  account  for  the  fact  that  it  was  not 
generally  believed  that  Mr.  Randolph  drank  to  excess.  He 
said:  "Although  he  drank  much  in  public,  he  drank  still 
more  in  private ;  and  although  the  public  and  private  drink 
ing  was  known  to  so  many,  yet  it  is  a  matter  of  great  sur 
prise  to  nine-tenths  of  persons  to  be  told  that  he  drank  to 
excess.  He  had  the  power  of  fascination  and  charm  to  such 
an  extent  on  most  men  that,  though  he  drank  much,  they 
thought  it  had  no  effect  on  him."  Mr.  Bouldin  was  of  a 
different  opinion,  however. 

The  testimony  of  Mr.  Benton  and  Mr.  Bouldin  differs; 
both  may  be  true.  But  if  the  question  were  submitted  to  a 
judge  on  the  bench  upon  the  evidence  of  these  two  wit 
nesses,  he  would  be  bound  to  decide,  according  to  settled 
principles  of  law,  that  the  fact  of  drunkenness  was  proved. 

He  was  in  a  drunken,  prostrate  condition  when  he  made 
Mr.  R.  B.  put  the  paper  in  the  box  and  seal  it  with  the  sign 
of  the  cross;  when  he  unconsciously  bid  the  same  person 
adieu. 

He  was  intoxicated  when  he  took  that  cold  ride  in  his 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  217 

carriage  from  his  house  to  Watkins's  store — the  time  he  of 
fered  his  friend  the  bottle  of  hot  water,  and  put  his  cloak 
over  one  of  his  horses.  He  was  inflamed  by  drink  when  he 
stormed  and  raged  at  his  servant  Queen  about  the  bank 
note — the  time  he  raised  himself  up  in  his  bed  with  the 
pantaloons  in  his  hands  and  swore  they  had  been  boiled. 
Nor  was  he  at  all  sober  when  he  displayed  the  clothes  he 
wore  before  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  when  he  said,  they 
were  rich  but  not  gaudy,  and  thereupon  commenced  to  read 
a  volume  of  Skakespeare,  saying  he  would  read  the  whole 
story ;  and  he  was  in  a  drunken  stupor  when  he  pressed  the 
hand  of  his  friend,  and  closing  his  eyes,  whispered,  "  I  am 
dying." 

He  was  surely  drunk  when  he  did  a  thousand  things 
which  some  attributed  to  madness.  True,  they  had  seen 
other  men  drinking  vast  quantities  of  intoxicating  liquors, 
and  then  acting  strangely  and  talking  strangely;  and  they 
had  no  hesitation  in  pronouncing  such,  not  mad,  but  drunk. 
But  when  they  saw  Mr.  Randolph  drinking  to  the  same  ex 
tent,  and  talking  and  acting  strangely,  they  could  not  be 
lieve  it  was  drunkenness,  but  madness. 

The  main  question  now  comes  up  for  decision^was  Mr. 
Randolph  a  sane  man  ? 

There  are  some  who  attribute,  in  a  great  measure,  those 
strange  things,  of  which  so  much  has  been  said,  in  the  life 
of  Mr.  Randolph,  to  his  intemperate  habits.  Of  this  num 
ber  is  one  of  our  most  reliable  witnesses.  If  the  reader 
will  recollect,  in  a  conversation  upon  this  very  subject  with 
Mr.  Wickham,  Mr.  Bouldin  said,  "he  was  drunk."  Mr. 
Wickham  replied,  "  he  did  not  know  whether  the  intoxica 
tion  came  first,  or  the  madness  came  first,  but  they  came 
together." 

We  have  no  doubt  that  this  is  the  correct  opinion.     He 


218  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

was  no  more  mad  than  some  other  men  under  the  influence 
of  ardent  spirits.  He  lost  his  senses  from  the  same  cause, 
and  to  no  greater  extent. 

If  he  were  living,  he  might  so  fascinate  and  charm  us  that 
we  might  not  believe  he  was  intemperate ;  or  we  might  be 
afraid  to  say  so,  as  thousands  were.  But,  now  that  he  is 
dead,  and  has  been  for  some  time,  we  think  we  can  form  an 
unprejudiced  opinion,  and  may  safely  express  it. 

There  is  not  a  shadow  of  a  doubt  resting  upon  our  mind, 
of  Mr.  Randolph's  sanity.  We  repeat,  his  nerves  were  of 
the  finest  texture  of  any  man  almost  that  ever  lived,  and  his 
brain  had  become  morbid  from  inordinate  exercise  upon 
particular  subjects. 

.  "  He  had  thought 

Too  long  and  darkly,  till  his  brain  became, 
In  its  own  eddy  boiling  and  o'erwrought. 

And  thus,  untaught  in  youth  his  heart  to  tame, 
His  springs  of  life  were  poisoned." 

His  nerves  were  strained  to  the  highest  pitch,  but  he  was 
not  mad.  To  a  state  of  high  natural  excitement  was  added 
artificial  excitement,  and  it  was  while  under  the  combined 
influence  of  both,  that  he  said  and  did  those  strange  things 
which  induced  the  belief  in  many,  that  he  was  mad. 


OF   JOHN   RANDOLPH.  219 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

LETTERS. 

WE  have  a  small  collection  of  Mr.  Randolph's  letters, 
which  have  never  been  published.     They  were  written 
at  various  periods  of  his  life,  from  youth  to  old  age. 
The  first,  which  we  propose  to  lay  before  our  readers,  was 
written  when  he  was  at  school  and  only  fifteen  years  of  age. 
It  is  said  that  Dryden,  Swift,  Goldsmith,  Sir  Walter  Scott, 
Gibbon  and  Napoleon,  were  all  dull  scholars;  this  letter  of 
Mr.  Randolph's  shows  conclusively  that  he  was  not  of  that 
class.     It  moreover  reveals  his  early  taste  for  politics. 

NEW  YORK,  Dec.  25,  1788. 

I  received  my  dear  papa's  affectionate  epistle,  and  was  sorry  to  find  that 
he  thought  himself  neglected.  I  assure  you,  my  dear  sir,  that  there  has 
scarcely  a  fortnight  elapsed  since  uncle's  absence  without  my  writing  to 
you,  and  I  would  have  paid  dearly  for  you  to  have  received  them.  I  sent 
them  by  the  post,  and  indeed  no  other  opportunity  "except  by  Capt.  Crozier, 
and  I  did  not  neglect  that.  Be  well  assured,  my  dear  sir,  our  expenses 
since  our  arrival  here  have  been  enormous  and  by  far  greater  than  our 
estate,  especially  loaded  as  it  is  with  debt,  can  bear;  however,  I  flatter  my 
self,  my  dear  papa,  that  upon  looking  over  the  accounts  you  will  find  that 
my  share  is,  by  comparison  trifling,  and  hope  that  by  the  wise  admonitions 
of  so  affectionate  a  parent,  and  one  who  has  our  welfare  and  interest  so 
much  at  heart,  we  may  be  able  to  shun  the  rock  of  prodigality,  upon  which 
so  many  people  continually  split,  and  by  which  the  unhappy  victim  is 
reduced,  not  only  to  poverty,  but  also  to  despair  and  all  the  horrors  at 
tending  it. 

Brother  R.  writes  you,  that  I  am  lazy.     I  assure  you,  dear  papa,  he  has 


220  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

been  egregiously  mistaken.  I  attend  every  lecture  that  the  class  does. 
Not  one  of  the  professors  have  ever  found  me  dull  with  my  business  or 
even  said  that  I  was  irregular.  All  my  leiture  time  I  devote  to  the  study 

of ,  and  then  read  the  poets  from  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  till 

twelve.     I  am  constantly  reading  in  my .     The  rest  of  my  time  is 

allotted  to  College  duty.  If  brother  Richard  had  written  you  that  I  did 
nothing  all  the  vacation  he  would  have  been  much  in  the  dark — neither 
was  it  possible  for  me.  We  lived  in  this  large  building  without  a  soul  in 
it  but  ourselves,  and  it  was  so  desolate  and  dreary  that  I  could  not  bear  to 
be  in  it.  I  always  was  afraid  that  some  robber,  of  which  we  have  a 
plenty  [as  you  will  see  by  the  enclosed  paper]  was  coming  to  kill  me  after 
they  made  a  draught  on  the  house. 

Be  so  good,  my  dear  sir,  when  it  is  convenient,  to  send  me  the  debate 

of  the  Convention  of  our  State.    My  love  to  the  families  of  Butler, , 

Cawsons.  My  love  to  Mr.  Tucker,  Jr.,  Miss  Maria,  and  the  children. 
Tell  them  I  wish  them  a  Merry  Christmas.  That  you,  my  ever  dear  papa, 
may  enjoy  many  happy  ones,  is  the  sincere  wish  of  your  ever  affectionate 
son, 

JOHN  RANDOLPH,  Jun'r. 

P.  S.  My  best  love  to  Aunt  Betty  Carlos.  Capt.  Henry  of  Bermuda 
says  that  cousin  F.  Tucker  of  the  Hermitage  is  to  be  married  to  young 
Jack  Tucker. 

St.  Geo.  Tucker,  Esq.,  Petersburg. 

Superscribed, 

The  Hori'ble  St.  George  Tucker,  Esq., 

Williamsburg,  Va. 
Franked,  Thos.  Fred;  Tucker, 

The  following  two  were  written  when  Mr.  Randolph  was 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  reflect  credit  upon  his  matured 
understanding : 

PHILADELPHIA,  26TH  JANUARY,  1794. 
MY  DEAR  FATHER: 

I  received  last  night  your  letter  of  the  iyth  instant, 

covering  a  draft  on  the  treasury  for  $104.27,  for  which  accept  my  hearty 
thanks.  I  wish  I  could  thank  you  also  for  your  news  concerning  the 
conjectured  "marriage  between  a  reverend  divine  and  one  who  has  been 
long  considered  among  the  immaculate  votaries  of  Diana."  I  can  easily 


OF   JOHN   RANDOLPH.  221 

guess  at  the  name  of  the  former;  but  there  are  really  so  many  ancient 
maids  in  your  town,  of  desperate  expectations  in  the  matrimonial  lottery, 
that  it  is  no  easy  task  to  tell  what  person  in  particular  comes  under  the 
above  denomination. 

You  may  depend  on  my  contracting  no  debts.  I  have  known  the 
sweets  of  that  situation  too  well  again  to  plunge  into  the  same  gulph  of 
extreme  misery  for  a  long  time  by  dint  of  extreme  parsimony,  extricating 
myself  from  that  most  horrid  of  all  calamities. 

You  have  not,  I  perceive,  received  some  of  my  letters,  for  immediately 
on  the  late  change  in  our  ministry,  as  'tis  styled  by  the  countrymen  here, 
I  wrote  to  you  informing  you  minutely  of  the  circumstance.  I  have 
wished  to  send  you  several  important  publications;  our  executive's  corres 
pondence  with  the  ministers  of  France  and  Britain,  &c. ,  but  I  had  no 
mode  of  conveying  them  to  you.  Mr.  Madison's  resolutions,  respecting 
the  restrictions  of  commerce  in  regard  to  those  nations  not  in  alliance  with 
us,  are  now  before  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  will  be,  I  am  afraid, 
thrown  out,  from  the  circumstance  of  two  of  our  southern  men  being 
absent — Mr.  Page  and  Mercer.  It  is  an  unpardonable  thing  for  men  to 
offer  themselves  as  candidates  who  cannot  punctually  attend.  Mr.  Madi 
son's  sentiments,  and  those  of  Columbus,  are  in  perfect  unison.  - 

I  will  now,  my  dear,  sir,  touch  upon  that  part  of  your  letter  dated  New 
Year's  day,  which  relates  to  my  studying  in  Williamsburg.  I  have  found 
my  conduct  and  character,  during  my  residence  in  that  place,  canvassed 
in  so  ungenerous  and  malicious  a  manner,  that  were  it  not  the  residence 
of  yourself,  and  your  beloved  family,  I  never  would  set  foot  in  it  again, 
but  if  you  wish  me  to  return,  I  will  conquer  my  aversion  to  the  place.  I 
ought  to  have  said  its  inhabitants,  as  far  as  'tis  in  my  power,  and  endeavor 
to  avail  myself  of  every  advantage  which  it  may  afford. 

Dr.  Tucker  is  expected  in  town  every  minute.  I  need  not  say  how 
happy  I  shall  be  to  see  him.  I  am  extremely  unwell,  owing  to  the 
amazing  vicissitude  of  weather  which  we  have  experienced.  For  some 
days  we  have  the  air  so  immoderately  warm  that  we  are  obliged  to  open 
our  windows  and  extinguish  the  fire,  and  in  the  course  of  five  hours  we 
experience  the  utmost  severity  of  winter. 

Present  my  best  love  to  all  the  family,  particularly  Mrs.  Tucker  and 
Fanny.  Why  does  not  the  latter  write?  Believe  me,  my  dear  sir,  with 
the  most  ardent  love  and  sincere  esteem  your  affectionate  son  and  friend, 

JOHN  RANDOLPH. 


222  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

No  news  of  my  trunk.  Colonel  Cole,  of  Virginia,  has  lost  his  youngest 
child,  a  girl  of  about  fifteen  months  old,  with  the  small  pox. 

3Oth  January,  Wednesday. 

I  have  been  so  unwell  as  to  be  incapable  of  carrying  this  to  the  post 
office  until  to-day.  Yesterday  we  had  a  most  violent  snow  storm,  which 
lasted  from  10  o'clock  A.  M.  till  two  this  morning,  during  which  time  it 
snowed  incessantly.  Uncle  T.  is  not  come.  No  news  of  my  trunk,  at 
which  I  am  very  uneasy.  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Campbell  by  Capt.  Dangerfield 
to  learn  by  what  vessel  it  was  sent,  but  have  received  no  answer.  There 
is  no  such  thing  in  this  city  as  Blackstone  in  4to.  The  house  has  come, 
as  yet,  to  no  determination  respecting  Mr.  Madison's  resolutions.  They 
will  not  pass,  thanks  to  our  absent  delegates;  nay,  were  they  to  go 
through  the  H.  of  R.  the  S.  would  reject  them,  as  there  is  no  senator  from 
Maryland  and  but  one  from  Georgia.  Thus  are  the  interests  of  the  South 
ern  States  basely  betrayed  by  the  indolence  of  some  and  the  villainy  of 
others  of  her  statesmen, — Messrs.  G — r,  H — n  and  L — e  generally  voting 
with  the  paper  men. 

Pray  write  at  least  once  a  week,  and  not  such  short  letters  as  you  some 
times  do.  I  wish  very  much  you  would  indulge  me  with  a  watch.  I  can 
get  a  very  good  gold  one  for  50  Dolls:  and  will  not  sell  it  I  assure  you. 

Once  more,  dear  father,  adieu. 

Yours  ever, 

J.  RANDOLPH. 

Wednesday  evening,  9  o'clock. 

I  was  mistaken,  my  dear  sir,  when  I  said  Uncle  Tucker  had  not  arrived 
in  town.  He  got  here  the  day  before  yesterday,  and  did  not  know  where 
to  find  me.  In  my  way  to  the  post  office  this  morning,  I  was  told  of  his 
arrival,  and  flew  to  see  him.  He  looks  as  well  as  I  ever  saw  him,  and 
was  quite  cheerful — made  a  number  of  affectionate  enquiries  concerning 
you  and  your  family,  my  brother  and  his  wife  and  little  boy.  He  cannot 
go  through  Virginia  in  his  way  to  Charleston.  I  pressed  him  very  warmly 
to  do  it,  but  you  know  his  resolutions  when  once  taken  are  unalterable. 
I  gave  you  in  a  former  letter  a  full  account  of  our  friends  in  Bermuda. 
My  uncle  says  that  they  complain  much  of  your  neglecting  to  write  to 
them.  He  seemed  much  hurt  at  the  circumstance.  You  cannot  think 
how  rejoiced  I  was  to  see  him  look  so  well  and  cheerful.  It  has  quite 
revived  my  spirits.  He  stays  in  this  city  a  week  or  ten  days,  when  he 


OF   JOHN   RANDOLPH.  223 

returns  to  New  York,  where  he  will  remain  five  or  six  weeks  before  he 
goes  to  Charleston.  If  you  write  him,  which  I  suppose  you  will  unques 
tionably  do,  you  had  better  direct  to  New  York.  I  shall  write  next  post, 
till  then,  my  dearest  father,  adieu.  I  must  not  forget  to  tell  you  that  Dr. 
Bartlett,  the  spermaceti  doctor,  as  Mr.  Tudor  used  to  call  him,  has  turned 
privateersman,  and  commands  a  vessel  out  of  Bermuda.  Miss  Betsy  Gil- 
christ  is  to  be  married  to  a  Lieut.  Hicks  of  the  British  army,  and  Mr. 
Fibb,  it  is  reported,  is  also  to  be  married  to  another  officer  whose  name  I 
do  not  recollect. 

J.  R. 

St.  Geo.  7ucker,  Esq., 

William  sburg, 
Mail.  Virginia. 

PHILADELPHIA,  MARCH  i,  1794. 
MY  DEAR  FATHER  : 

I  see  that  you  begin  again  to  cease  writing  to  me ; 

and  I  hope  that  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  send  me  a  letter  at  least  once  a 
week,  as  you  are  so  shortly  to  set  out  on  your  circuit,  when  I  cannot  ex 
pect  to  hear  from  you  as  often  as  when  you  are  at  home.  The  enclosed 
letter  I  wrote  some  time  ago.  I  have  every  day  been  expecting  an  op 
portunity  by  which  I  could  send  it  without  subjecting  you  to  the  expense 
of  postage,  which  perhaps  I  too  often  do.  As  the  subject  is  an  important 
one,  I  hope  you  will  answer  it  as  soon  as  you  conveniently  can. 

Yesterday  the  important  question,  whether  Mr.  Gallatin,  a  senator  from 
this  State,  was  entitled  to  a  seat  in  the  Senate  or  not,  was  determined 
against  him. 

AYES.  NOES. 

Langdon,  N.  H.  Livermore,  N.  H. 


Island. 


Burr,  N.  Y.  Bradford, 

Monroe,      )  y.  Foster, 

Taylor,       j  virg'  Ellsworth,        „ 

?rown'-      I  Kent.  Mitche11'       I 


} 


Edwards,    j  "  King,  N.  York. 

Martin,  N.  C.  Frelinghuysen,  N.  Jersey. 

Butler,  S.  C.  Morris,  Penn. 

Jackson,     \  p  Vining,  Delaware. 

Gunn,         J  "  Potts,  Maryland. 

Hawkins,  N.  C. 

Irrard,  S.  C. 

12  14 


224  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

The  Republican  party  are  much  hurt  at  this  decision,  since  in  abilities 
and  principles,  he  was  inferior  to  none  in  that  body.  So  said  Mr.  Taylor, 
from  Virginia.  Altho'  he  came  here  in  1780,  took  up  arms  in  our  de 
fence,  bought  lands  and  settled,  yet,  nine  years  not  having  elapsed  be 
tween  the  time  of  his  taking  the  oaths  of  allegiance  and  his  election,  he 
was  declared  not  qualified  according  to  the  constitution.  It  was  agreed 
that  by  art.  2,  sect.  I,  clause  4,  a  resident  of  14  years  standing  might 
take  the  oaths  of  citizenship  one  day  and  be  elected  the  next  to  the  presi 
dential  chair;  and  therefore  it  was  apprehended  that  the  constitution  of 
the  U.  S.  was  not  more  vigilant  with  respect  to  the  election  of  senators 
than  presidents.  Certainly,  if  a  man  be  not  a  citizen  of  the  United  States 
at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  constitution,  he  is  not  eligible 
to  the  office  of  president:  however,  Mr.  Gallatin  had  been  nine  years  a 
citizen  and  thirteen  an  inhabitant  when  he  took  his  seat.  Query,  can  a 
man  be  a  senator  until  he  qualifies  as  is  prescribed  by  art.  6,  clause  3,  and 
informed  by  c.  I,  2d  sess.  ist  congress?  I  wish  you  would  inform  me 
what  your  opinion  is  on  the  subject. 

My  uncle  is  still  in  town.  I  saw  him  the  day  before  yesterday.  He 
desires  me  to  tell  you  that  he  will  write  you  when  he  arrives  in  New 
York.  He  is  very  well. 

In  almost  every  one  of  my  letters  I  have  made  enquiries  concerning  my 
trunk.  Pray,  my  dear  sir,  inform  me,  if  you  can,  where  it  is.  Do  you 
know  by  what  vessel  it  was  sent  ?  I  am  sans  chemise  and  sans  culottes 
in  every  sense  of  the  word.  Toulon  is  certainly  retaken.  The  English 
are  apprehensive  of  a  descent  on  their  coast.  The  vessels  in ex 
terminated.  My  best  love  to  Mrs.  T.  &  Co. 

Yours  ever, 

JOHN  RANDOLPH,  Jun'r. 

When  do  you  set  off  upon  your  circuit  ?     What  districts  do  you  visit  ? 

JACK  LACONIC. 
Superscribed, 

St.  George  Tucker,  Esq., 

William<->burg,   Virginia. 

Care  of  James  Brown,  Esq.,  who  will  be  so  obliging  as  to  forward  it  by 
the  first  good  conveyance 

The  first  letter  in  this  chapter  was  written  when  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  was  a  school  boy;  the  second  just  as  he  reached 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  225 

maturity;  we  will  now  lay  before  the  reader  one  written 
when  he  was  fifty-three  years  of  age.  He  was  noted  for  his 
love  of  fine  horses  and  opens  upon  that  subject;  but  he 
touches  upon  several  other  points,  and,  altogether,  this  letter 
is  not  only  characteristic,  but  highly  interesting : 

WASHINGTON,  January  16,  1828. 
DEAR  SIR: 

Your  welcome  letter  of  the  I3th  from  Petersburg  reached  me  yesterday. 
I  waited  for  its  receipt,  that  I  might  acknowledge  that  of  its  predecessor 
at  the  same  time.  I  am  sorry  that  I  did  so,  for  I  wanted  to  know  whe 
ther  I  could  advantageously  place  my  horse,  Roanoke,  in  your  neighbor 
hood?  I  am  sorry  that  you  can't  take  filly;  but  I  pledge,  as  the  boys  say, 
a  place  for  her  in  your  training  stables  next  autumn,  and  another  if  you 
have  it  to  spare.  Could  I  get  Boiling  Graves,  think  you,  to  train  for  me  ? 
I  mean  next  autumn  of  course,  for  his  spring  engagements  are  no  doubt 
complete.  There  is  some  mistake  about  that  rifle.  It  was  never  sent 
home.  The  last  time  I  saw  it  it  was  in  J.  M.  &  D.'s  compting  room. 
Have  I  any  other  article  there  except  the  fir  pole  from  Mont  Blanc? 
Uncle  Nat.*  is  greatly  mended,  and  I  am  satisfied  that  if  the  "wicked 
world  cease  from  troubling,"  which  they  will  not  do  in  this  world,  I  wish 
they  may  in  the  next,  he  would  be  well.  He  made  a  remark  to  me  the 
other  day,  that  forcibly  reminded  me  of  Gay's  Shepherd  and  Philoso 
pher — the  best  of  all  his  fables, except  "the  Hare  and  many  friends."  It 
will  not  require  your  sagacity  to  make  the  application.  "All  animals," 
said  he,  "  provide  for  their  own  offspring,  and  there  the  thing  stops.  The 
birds  rear  their  young  by  their  joint  cares  and  labours.  The  cow  suckles 
and  takes  care  of  her  own  calf,  but  she  does  not  nurse  or  provide  for  that 
calf's  calf."  "  The  birds  do  not  build  nests  for  their  young  one's  eggs,  nor 
hatch  them,  nor  feed  the  nestlings." 

I  return  the  good  wishes  and  "  best  regards  of  all  your  family  to  one 
and  all.  But  I  must  particularly  name  the  matron  mother  of  them  all,  and 
Virginia.  Edward  I  see  is  married.  Being  now  aged,  and  having  his 
full  weight  to  carry,  he  will  I  trust  "plumb  the  track"  as  I  have  heard 
old  racers  say.  To  George  I  am  indebted  for  a  very  kind  letter.  John  I 

*  Honorable  Nathaniel  Macon. 


226  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

am  satisfied,  with  proper  training  and  exercise,  which  last  depends  upon 
himself,  will  make  a  fine  fellow,  but  he  must'  bear  in  mind  that  no  nag 
can  run  just  taken  off  the  grass,  and  that  with  the  best  management  he 
must  sometime  muzzle.  The  younger  boys,  in  which  members  I  include 
your  grandson,  I  need  not  advise  to  diligently  mind  their  work,  which, 
at  their  age,  is  play.  This  they  will  do  without  aid  from  any  quarter. 

Mr.  Macon's  kindness  to  me  on  all  occasions,  but  particularly  last  win 
ter  and  this,  cannot  be  requited  by  any  return  that  I  can  make.  But  for 
him  last  winter  I  don't  know  what  I  should  have  done.  But  if  you  were 
to  hear  him,  you  would  suppose  that  he,  and  not  /,  was  the  obliged  party. 
We  have  had  but  one  fair  day  this  month  (New  Year's  day),  and  but  four 
in  December.  It  has  been  very  warm  and  damp— the  worst  possible 
weather  for  preserving  meat.  I  wish  that  you  may  have  "  saved  your 
bacon."  If  practicable,  I  am  sure  that  it  has  been  done  by  Mrs.  J.'s 
management,  who,  in  her  department,  I  will  back  against  any  that  can  be 
named ;  and  now  you  are  fairly  tired  of  a  letter  of  two  closely  written 
pages.  So  farewell,  and  God  bless  you  all. 

Yours,  truly, 

J.  R.,  of  R. 

I  send  George  the  Advocate  every  week. 

(Private  and  particular.)  Yesterday  our  friend*  and  your  representa 
tive  made  a  speech,  which  although,  in  some  respects,  the  best  I  ever 
heard  from  him,  yet  was  (as  is  too  often  the  case  with  him)  more  inju 
rious  to  us  than  to  the  enemy.  It  was  on  the  slave  question. 

Superscribed, 

William  R.  Johnson,  Esq., 

Wilkinsonville,  Chesterfield  county,  Virginia. 

free,  J.  RANDOLPH. 

The  following  letter,  addressed  to  his  personal  friend  and 
business  manager,  Thomas  A.  Morton,  Esq.,  of  Prince  Ed 
ward,  was  written  at  the  time  that  he  was  minister  to  Russia. 
Knowing  that  he  was  buried  at  Roanoke  by  his  direction, 

*  Honorable  Wm.  S.  Archer. 


OF   JOHN   RANDOLPH.  227 

we  were  surprised  to  see  a  desire  expressed  to  lie  by  the 
side  of  his  father  and  mother,  at  Matoax.  We  have  heard 
no  reason  assigned  for  his  change  of  feelings  in  this  respect. 

LONDON,  Warwick  St.  Charing  Cross. 

Dec.  6,  1830.     Monday. 
MY  DEAR  SIR  : 

Since  the  sailing  of  the  last  packet  from  Liverpool,  I  re 
ceived  via  St.  Petersburg  your  letter  of  the  2 1st  of  August — the  only  one 
that  I  have  had  the  pleasure  to  get  from  you. 

It  is  with  no  small  difficulty  that  I  summon  strength  to  thank  you  for  it; 
for  I  am  as  low  as  I  can  be  to  be  able  to  write  at  all. 

In  case  that  you  shall  not  have  contracted  for  the  house  at  Bizarre,  I 
wish  to  countermand  the  request.  I  intended  it  for  a  purpose  that  now 
can  never  be. 

My  expectations  from  the  tobacco  were  very  small;  but  I  had  hoped  it 
would  not  turn  out  quite  so  badly.  Meanwhile,  I  have  no  supply  from 
Government.  Congress  and  the  Virginia  Assembly  both  meet  this  day, 
and  I  pray  God  to  send  us,  the  people,  a  safe  deliverance. 

It  will  be  very  unlucky  in  case  of  a  general  war  in  Europe,  which  some 
look  forward  to,  that  we  shall  have  eaten  all  our  wheat,  for  I  learn  that 
there  is  a  total  destruction  of  Indian  corn. 

I  must  refer  you  to  the  newspapers  for  European  politics.  Nothing 
will  preserve  peace  but  the  dread  of  the  "Great  Powers,"  lest  their  sub 
jects  should  catch  the  French  and  Belgic  disease  (for  such  they  deem  it). 
If  they  touch  Belgium,  France  will  strike.  This  country  is  in  a  deplora 
ble  condition  of  splendid  misery.  A  great  discovery  has  been  made  on 
the  Continent,  far  surpassing  any  of  Archimedes  or  Newton.  The  people 
have  discovered  the  secret  of  their  strength ;  and  the  military  have  found' 
out  that  they  are  the  people.  The  teeth  and  nails  of  despotism  are  from 
that  day  drawn  and  pared. 

Commend  me  earnestly  to  all  my  old  friends  and  constituents.  I  shall 
be  among  them  (dead  or  alive)  next  Summer.  I  have  provided  for  a 
leaden  coffin,  feeling  as  I  do  an  inexpressible  desire  to  lie  by  the  side  of 
my  dear  mother  and  honored  father  at  old  Matoax. 

Remember  me  to  the  old  servants — particularly  Syphax,  Louisa,  Sam 


228  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

and  Phil,  and  be  assured,  my  dear  sir,  that  I  set  the  highest  value  on  the 
good  opinion  with  which  you  have  honored  me,  and  I  fully  reciprocate  it* 

Most  sincerely  and  faithfully, 

J.  R.  of  Roanoke. 

John,  my  servant,  is  quite  well ;  he  has  not  been  otherwise  since  we 
left  the  U.  S. ;  and  is  a  perfect  treasure  to  me.  He  desires  his  remem 
brance  to  Syphax,  &c.,  &c. 

To 

Thos.  A.  Morton,  Esq. 

Pray  let  Mr.  Leigh  know  of  the  receipt  and  date  of  this  letter. 

The  following  letter  was  written  about  eighteen  months 
before  his  death.  He  speaks  of  "thankless  heirs,"  and 
complains  of  having  been  deserted  in  his  old  age.  We 
have,  moreover,  a  picture  of  a  man  on  the  brink  of  the 
grave,  whose  thoughts  were  eager  for  the  acquisition  of 
wealth,  and  he  seems  to  have  intended  it  as  a  picture  of 
himself.  The  letter  is  short,  but  it  "unmasks  man's  heart," 
and  enables  the  reader  to  "view  the  hell  that's  there." 

ROANOKE,  Dec.  6,  1831. 
MY  DEAR  FRIEND  : 

This  is  no  common-place  address,  for  without  profes 
sion  or  pretension  such  you  have  quietly  and  modestly  proved  yourself  to 
be,  while,  like  Darius,  I  have  been 

"  Deserted  in  my  utmost  need, 
By  those  my  former  bounty  fed." 

All  this  is  only  acting  according  to  your  character,  and  you  can  hardly 
help  it  now,  second  nature  being  superadded  to  the  first.  In  the  whole 
course  of  my  unprofitable  life  I  never  received  a  letter  from  a  man  that 
affected  me  so  deeply  as  yours  of  the  3d. 

If  I  can  I  will  be  with  you  on  the  I4th  (the  day  before  the  sale.)  I 
will  bring  with  me  the  original  blotter  of  the  sale,  which  Creed  Taylor 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  229 

•can  verify,  if  he  be  not  civiliter  mortuus,  as  I  greatly  fear  he  is.  There 
is  no  body  else  left,  unless  it  be  our  old  friend  Bedford.  *  *  * 

But  my  dear  friend,  what  are,  or  what  ought  to  be,  the  cares  of  a  man 
about  property  that  believes  himself  to  be  dying?  and  almost,  but  not 
"altogether,"  hopes  it.  I  am  now  as  much  worse  than  when  you  saw 
me  on  my  way  to  Buckingham  November  court,  as  then  I  was  worse  than 
when  I  left  London. 

I  wish  to  sell  the  lots  next  the  warehouse  at  cost,  and  interest  if  to  be 
had,  or  exchange  them  for  others,  adjoining  the  lots  I  got  from  your 
father  and  of  Wathell,  or  those  on  the  branch ;  or  I  could  sell  all,  or  im 
prove  for  the  benefit  of  thankless  heirs. 

"  He  turns  with  anxious  care  and  crippled  hands 
His  bonds  of  debt  and  mortgages  of  lands." 

A  long  credit  to  me  is  the  same  as  a  short  one;  I  shan't  outlive  a  bank 
•discount. 

Caught  like  Bonaparte  by  an  Arctic  winter,  setting  in  on  November 
(Prince  Edward)  court,  but  not  like  him  in  latitude  50-55, 1  am  in  37°  30 
north,  a  little  south  of  Algiers.  I  am  tied  here  until  the  March  and  April 
•winds  and  MAY  frosts  are  over,  if  I  live  so  long. 


To 

Thos.  A.  Morton,  Esq. 


Most  truly  yours, 

J.  R.,  of  Roanoke. 


The  last  letter  which  we  shall  place  before  the  reader  is 
one  written  for  Mr.  Elisha  E.  Hundley,  formerly  of  Charlotte 
county,  Virginia,  but  now  a  citizen  of  Chicago — a  letter  of 
introduction  to  John  Rowan,  Esquire,  of  Kentucky,  one  of 
the  most  distinguished  men  of  his  day.  It  is  as  follows : 

ROANOKE,  August  15,  1832. 
MY  DEAR  SIR: 

This  will  be  presented  to  you  by  my  neighbor,  Elisha  E. 
Hundley,  whose  affairs  take  him  to  what,  in  old  times,  we  used  to  call 
«the  Bear  Grass  Country, 

The  estate  of  his  relative,  which  Mr.  Hundley  goes  out  to  settle  up, 


230  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

lies  within  six  miles  of  Louisville,  and  he  may  stand  in  need  of  advice^ 
As  there  is  no  man  in  Kentucky,  or  out  of  it,  more  capable  of  aiding  him 
in  this  behalf  than  yourself,  I  have  given  him  this  letter ;  but  not  so  much 
on  that  account,  as  to  recommend  him  to  your  good  offices  as  a  man  every 
way  worthy  of  them.  Mr.  Hundley  is  a  plain,  industrious,  quiet  man, 
who  minds  his  own  affairs  and  does  not  meddle  with  other  people's  busi 
ness.  He  is  also  a  pious  member  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church.  I 
have  purchased  his  land  next  to  my  own,  and  thereby  deprived  myself  of 
an  excellent  neighbour — but  he  was  resolved  to  sell. 

My  old  acquaintances,  the  Maupins,  whom  we  called  Maupanes,  Rich 
ard  especially,  will  oblige  me  by  any  attentions  they  may  show  Mr.  H. 

I  am  in  the  most  wretched  health  that  can  be  conceived  or  endured. 

With  the  highest  respect,  D'r  Sir,  your  faithful  serv't, 

J.  R.  of  Roanoke. 
To 

John   Rowan,  Esquire, 

Louisville. 

Mr.  Hundley  in  his  letter  enclosing  Mr.  Randolph's  to  us^ 
and  kindly  granting  us  the  use  of  it,  writes  that  it  was  pre 
sented  to  him  "without  being  asked  for,"  and  adds,  "I 
never  leave  home  on  a  trip  of  business  without  it,  as  it  has 
ever  proved  a  never-failing  passport  to  me  where  I  was  not 
known."  It  was  written,  as  the  reader  will  observe,  only 
ten  months  before  his  death ;  but  it  shows  no  signs  of  mental 
decay,  and  is  as  much  like  its  author  as  anything  that  ever 
came  from  him.  No  other  person,  in  the  short  space  of  a 
single  page  of  manuscript,  and  that  a  letter  of  introduction 
would  have  presented  such  a  variety  of  subjects,  nor  should 
we  expect  to  find  anywhere  else  such  a  remark  as  he  makes 
about  the  Maupins.  It  is  a  little  singular,  that  while  he 
signs  himself  "of  Roanoke,"  he  writes — John  Rowan, 
Esquire — the  Esquire  in  full.  The  distinguished  gentle 
man  to  whom  this  letter  was  addressed,  it  would  seem,, 
should  have  had  the  prefix  "  Hon."  to  his  name  since  he 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  231 

had  occupied  the  high  position  of  senator  in  Congress  from 
1825  to  1831. 

It  appears  that  when  he  was  at  college  Mr.  Randolph 
signed  his  name  John  Randolph ;  a  few  years  afterwards  it 
was  John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke.  In  the  sharpest  corres 
pondence  we  ever  read  between  Mr.  Randolph  and  his 
cousin  Nancy,  who  married  Gouverneur  Morris,  that  bril 
liant  lady  severely  rasps  her  distinguished  relative  for  taking 
upon  himself  the  title  of  John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke. 

But  the  letter  served  more  than  its  purpose ;  never  having 
been  delivered  to  the  gentleman  to  whom  it  was  addressed, 
it  was  used  on  sundry  occasions  by  Mr.  Hundley  in  his  ex 
tensive  travels  in  this  country  and  in  Europe. .  Indeed,  he 
prized  it  so  highly,  that  he  had  a  hundred  lithographic 
copies  taken  of  it,  to  hand  down  to  his  children  and  grand 
children,  as  a  precious  memorial  of  his  distinguished  friend 
and  neighbor. 

We  have  thus  exhausted  our  fund  of  letters.  Our  collec 
tion,  though  not  large,  presents  a  pleasing  variety,  and  every 
page  of  this  short  chapter  is  a  valuable  index  to  the  charac 
ter  of  our  distinguished  subject.  The  reader,  who  is  curious 
to  peruse  other  letters  of  Mr.  Randolph,  will  find  a  great 
number  in  Garland's  life  of  him.  Our  object  was  not  to 
repeat  what  has  been  already  published,  but  to  furnish  fresh 
food,  to  satisfy  the  appetite  of  the  public,  who,  it  has  seemed 
to  us,  have  devoured  with  more  tjian  ordinary  interest  every 
thing  concerning  John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke. 


232  HOME     REMINISCENCES 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

JOHN  RANDOLPH  AS  AX  ORATOR. 

TT7HATEVER  doubt  may  exist  as  to  whether  Mr.  Ran- 
W  dolph  was  a  great  man,  a  consistent  statesman,  a 
profound  thinker,  a  logical  debater,  there  can  be  none 
as  to  his  being  a  great  orator. 

In  criticising  oratory,  we  must  be  careful  not  to  confound 
the  orator  with  the  mere  logical  reasoner  or  debater.  There 
is  a  wide  difference  between  them.  The  object  of  the  two 
classes  of  speakers  is  different,  the  effect  is  different,  and  the 
criterion,  by  which  their  respective  merits  are  estimated,  is 
different. 

The  logician  may  be  able  to  accomplish  more  in  the  end, 
particularly  in  this  country,  where  so  many  facilities  are  af 
forded  for  publishing  speeches;  and  he  certainly  furnishes 
an  agreeable  exercise  for  the  mental  faculties ;  but  the  orator 
proper  exhibits  the  highest  order  of  talent,  and  dancing  to 
the  most  fascinating  music,  is  not  more  delightful  than  the 
stimulus  of  hearing  him  speak. 

The  object  of  the  mere  debater,  at  least  in  the  halls  of 
Congress,  is  the  remote  and  permanent  effect.  There,  nine- 
tenths  of  the  speakers  address  themselves  mainly  to  the 
reporters.  They  do  not  care  so  much  for  the  immediate 
effect  upon  their  hearers,  as  the  lasting  impression  upon 
their  constituents  particularly,  and  the  public  generally. 

The  facility  afforded  by  the  press  for  having  speeches 
reported  and  disseminated  all  over  the  nation,  within  a  few 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  233 

hours  after  delivery,  has  a  great  tendency  to  decrease  the 
cultivation  of  real  oratorical  talents.  But  occasionally  there 
appears  a  sudden  and  bright  light,  who  stirs  every  feeling  of 
the  human  breast,  who  may,  indeed,  be  reported,  and  with 
considerable  effect,  but  whose  object  is  immediate  conviction 
and  persuasion,  and  whose  glory  is  to  electrify  his  audience. 

Such  was  John  Randolph. 

We  doubt  whether  there  ever  lived  a  more  eloquent  man 
than  Mr.  Randolph. 

Some  are  eloquent  in  the  pulpit  or  at  the  bar,  but  dull  and 
uninteresting  around  the  social  circle.  Others  are  gifted 
with  great  colloquial  powers,  but  are  unable  to  deliver  a 
public  address.  But  Mr.  Randolph  was  eloquent,  both  in 
his  speeches  and  in  his  conversations.  Thousands,  who 
never  had  the  good  fortune  to  hear  him  address  a  public 
assembly,  have  felt  his  power  of  fascination  in  private,  when 
he  chose  to  exert  it,  with  wonder  and  admiration. 

But,  in  our  humble  opinion,  we  should  be  wide  of  the 
mark,  if,  being  called  upon  for  the  evidences  of  his  great 
oratorical  powers,  we  should  point  to  his  reported  speeches. 

His  speech,  in  answer  to  Mr.  Everett,  of  Massachusetts,  is 
all  that  Mr.  Garland  claims  for  it.  It  is  a  specimen  of  his 
•"  large  acquaintance  with  history,  profound  knowledge  of 
human  character,  his  copiousness  of  illustration,  and  the 
rapidity,  beauty,  strength  and  purity  of  his  style." 

But  however  much  we  admire  the  beauty  of  the  composi 
tion,  or  the  profundity  of  the  views  expressed,  there  is 
nothing  in  that  speech  which  entitles  its  author  to  be  styled 
a  great  orator.  We  cannot  tell  from  the  length  of  David's 
sling,  or  the  weight  of  Francisco's  sword,  how  they  wielded 
these  instruments  of  death.  We  are  convinced  that  Ran 
dolph  and  Clay  were  orators,  but  not  from  reading  their 
.speeches.  We  might  admit  they  were  great  masters  of  com- 


234  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

position,  logical  reasoners — wise  men;  but  we  should  not 
be  justified  in  pronouncing  them  great  orators  from  reading 
their  speeches. 

Mr.  Randolph  was  an  orator  proper.  He  possessed  the 
faculty  of  producing  an  instantaneous  and  powerful  effect 
upon  his  auditors;  and  his  speeches  lose  half  their  charm 
when  they  appear  in  print.  Sheridan  was  well  aware  of  this 
pecularity  of  the  orator  when  he  refused  to  permit  his  great 
speech,  in  the  case  of  Warren  Hastings,  to  be  reported. 

If  called  upon  to  select  the  passage  which  we  most  ad 
mire  of  all  that  we  have  seen  from  the  great  Virginia  orator, 
we  should  point  to  a  sentence  in  his  speech  made  at  Char 
lotte  Court-house,  at  the  time  he  excused  himself,  on  the 
ground  of  ill  health,  for  declining  a  reelection  to  Congress. 
The  reader  will  remember  we  gave  it  among  the  recollec 
tions  of  the  Honorable  James  W.  Bouldin;  but,  for  the  bet 
ter  illustration  of  our  subject,  we  repeat  it.  He  said: 

I  am  going  across  the  sea,  to  patch  up  and  preserve  a  shattered  frame — 
a  frame  worn  out  in  your  service,  and  to  lengthen  out,  yet  a  little  longer,, 
hitherto  certainly,  not  a  very  happy  existence,  for,  excepting  the  one  up 
braided  by  a  guilty  conscience,  no  life  can  be  more  unhappy  than  that,  the 
days  of  which  are  spent  in  pain  and  sickness,  and  the  nights  in  travail 
and  sorrow. 

This  passage  written  reads  very  well,  but  of  its  force  and 
beauty,  as  pronounced  by  Mr.  Randolph,  we  have  no  ade 
quate  conception.  We  are  told  that  while  he  was  speaking, 
every  bosom  swelled  with  sympathy  for  the  fate  of  the  un 
happy  exile,  who  was  going  to  a  foreign  land  to  "  eke  out 
the  last  remains  of  his  toilsome  life." 

But  we  repeat  the  words  used  on  that  occasion,  and  ad 
mire  them  with  scarcely  a  sigh.  The  harp  is  before  us,  with 
all  its  strings  in  tune,  but  in  vain  we  attempt  as  he  played  ta 
play. 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  235- 

Still,  after  all,  this  sentence  may  have  been  spoken  by  a 
tongue  by  no  means  eloquent. 

In  the  trial  of  a  case  of  murder,  in  which  Patrick  Henry 
defended  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  he  made  use  of  the  follow 
ing  language : 

You  have  been  told,  gentlemen,  that  the  prisoner  was  bound  by  every 
obligation  to  avoid  the  supposed  necessity  of  firing,  by  leaping  behind  a 
house  near  by  which  he  stood  at  that  moment.  Had  he  been  attacked 
with  a  club,  or  with  stones,  the  argument  would  have  been  unanswerable, 
and  I  should  find  myself  compelled  to  give  up  the  defence  in  despair. 
But  surely,  I  need  not  tell  you,  gentlemen,  how  wide  is  the  difference  be 
tween  sticks  or  stones  and  double  triggered  loaded  rifles  cocked  at  your 
breast. 

These  were  the  instruments  employed  by  the  speaker  to 
convey  to  the  jury  the  terrible  image  which  was  in  his  own 
mind.  But  there  appears  nothing  in  his  words  which  en 
ables  us  to  rank  him  one  of  the  greatest  orators  the  world 
has  produced.  And  yet,  we  are  informed,  that  when  he 
uttered  this  sentence,  it  produced  "paroxysms  of  emotion 
in  every  breast." 

What  is  there  in  the  expression,  "  If  we  are  wrong,  let  us 
all  go  wrong  together?"  Yet  such  was  the  effect  when 
spoken  by  Henry  with  the  appropriate  action,  that  the  whole 
auditory  moved  unconsciously  with  the  speaker. 
/  If  we  were  to  take  our  seat  by  the  side  of  some  beautiful 
woman  and  listen  to  a  piece  of  music  which  charmed  our 
souls,  and  afterwards  were  to  show  the  notes  to  a  friend, 
what  a  faint  idea  he  could  form  of  the  treat  we  had  really 
enjoyed.  So,  if  we  had  the  good  fortune  of  hearing  a  great 
orator  speak,  and  were  to  adduce,  as  proof  of  it,  an  accurate 
report  of  the  words  which  he  used,  how  very  far  short  we 
should  fall  of  conveying  an  adequate  conception  of  the  spell 
that  bound  us? 


236  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

If  we  wanted  to  convey  a  just  idea  of  the  tumultuous  rage 
of  a  great  battle  we  had  witnessed,  we  should  not,  when  it 
was  all  over — the  dead  removed,  and  silence  restored  to 
the  scene,  point  to  the  fell  instruments  which  were  used,  the 
swords  of  the  veteran  warriors,  the  quality  of  the  ammuni 
tion  which  was  belched  from  the  mouths  of  the  cannon;  nor 
can  they  be  taken  as  the  proofs  of  a  successful  battle.  The 
genius  of  the  warrior  consists  in  the  use  he  makes  of  his 
instruments  of  death,  and  the  manner  in  which  they  are 
handled ;  and  the  criterion  of  his  merit  is  the  actual  effect 

The  speech  of  Mr.  Randolph,  so  highly  spoken  of  by 
Mr.  Garland,  is  not  a  complete  evidence  of  his  oratorical 
powers.  There  we  read  the  strategic  plans  of  the  author  ; 
are  enabled  to  conceive  of  his  wonderful  facility  in  gathering 
materials  for  crushing  the  feelings  of  his  adversaries;  be 
hold  the  dreadful  weapons  he  employed;  but  the  action  is 
wanting.  We  cannot  witness  the  running  through  with  the 
long  bony  finger,  the  rage  of  his  eyes,  which  flashed  from 
side  to  side,  nor  the  awful  contractions  of  the  muscles  of 
his  face.  We  cannot  tell  how  he  bore  himself  upon  the  field 
of  battle,  when  the  cry  was,  " delenda  est  Carthago''  nor 
how  the  victims  of  his  displeasure  writhed  and  agonized 
with  pain. 

A  book  of  military  tactics  affords  about  as  much  evidence 
of  the  genius  of  the  warrior  as  the  speeches  of  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  afford  of  his  genius  as  an  orator. 

The  evidence,  we  repeat,  of  the  oratorical  powers  of  any 
man  is  not  to  be  found  in  his  reported  speeches.  The  ora 
tions  of  Demosthenes  and  Cicero  are  perhaps  the  most  per 
fect  models  of  composition  of  their  kind  which  the  world 
ever  saw,  yet  from  them  we  can  gather  naught  to  convince 
us  that  they  were  orators  of  the  first  magnitude.  If  the 
speeches  of  Patrick  Henry  were  ten  times  more  logical 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  237 

than  they  really  are ;  if  those  of  Mr.  Randolph  were  really 
more  brilliant,  the  language  more  chaste  and  harmonious^ 
still,  from  the  perusal  of  them,  we  could  form  but  a  very  im 
perfect  estimate  of  the  oratorical  powers  of  these  wonderful 
men. 

We  said  the  object  of  oratory  is  to  sway  the  crowd;  to- 
produce  an  immediate  effect.  Orators  are  fully  aware  of  the 
advantages  they  possess  over  the  historian  or  novelist.  As 
we  read  the  pages  of  the  one,  we  pause  to  weigh  the  testi 
mony;  to  consider  the  truth  and  accuracy  of  the  statements, 
and  the  representations  of  the  other  must  still  be  held  up  to 
nature,  to  determine  whether  they  be  drawn  to  life.  But, 
when  a  great  orator  is  speaking  we  are  filled  with  electricity ; 
it  passes  from  him  to  us,  and  from  us  to  him ;  we  catch  the 
passions  which  burn  and  flash  within  his  animated  breast; 
are  hurried  along  from  point  to  point,  and  have  no  time  for 
sifting  arguments;  we  are  transported  with  the  scenes  he 
describes;  our  imagination  is  filled  with  glowing  pictures; 
we  are  charmed,  fascinated,  and  often  our  reason  is  led  cap 
tive  by  a  single  expression. 

In  illustration  of  the  last  idea,  we  will  mention  the  effect 
which  the  Rev.  Dr.  Speece  says  a  single  expression  had 
upon  him.  He  was  at  the  trial,  in  one  of  our  district  courts, 
of  a  man  charged  with  murder.  After  briefly  stating  the 
case,  he  remarks: 

A  great  mass  of  testimony  was  delivered.  This  was  commented  upon 
with  considerable  ability  by  the  lawyer  for  the  commonwealth,  and  by 
another  lawyer  engaged  by  the  friends  of  the  deceased  for  the  prosecution. 
The  prisoner  was  also  defended  in  elaborate  speeches  by  two  respectable 
advocates.  These  proceedings  brought  the  day  to  a  close.  The  general 
whisper  through  a  crowded  house  was,  that  the  man  was  guilty,  and  could 
not  be  saved. 

About  dark  candles  were  brought  in,  and  Henry  rose.    His  manner  was. 


"238  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

-exactly  that  which  the  British  Spy  describes  with  so  much  felicity,  plain, 
simple,  and  entirely  unassuming.  "  Gentlemen  of  the  jury,"  said  he,  "  I 
dare  say  that  we  are  all  very  fatigued  with  this  tedious  trial.  The  prisoner 
at  the  bar  has  been  well  defended  already,  but  it  is  my  duty  to  offer  you 
some  further  observations  in  favor  of  this  unfortunate  man.  I  shall  aim 
at  brevity.  But  should  I  take  up  more  of  your  time  than  you  expect,  I 
hope  you  will  hear  me  with  patience  when  you  consider  that  blood  is  con 
cerned. 

I  cannot  admit  the  possibility  that  any  who  never  heard  Henry  speak 
should  be  made  fully  to  conceive  the  force  of  impression  which  he  gave 
to  these  few  words,  "  blood  is  concerned."  I  had  been  on  my  feet  through 
the  day,  pushed  about  in  the  crowd,  and  was  excessively  weary.  I  was 
strongly  of  the  opinion,  too,  notwithstanding  all  the  previous  defensive 
pleadings,  that  the  prisoner  was  guilty  of  murder,  and  I  felt  anxious  to 
know  how  the  matter  would  terminate,  yet  when  Henry  had  uttered  these 
words  my  feelings  underwent  an  instantaneous  change. 

There  is  something  almost  superhuman  in  the  gift  which 
moves  a  crowd  to  tears  by  the  utterance  of  a  simple  sen 
tence,  as  Flechier  did  in  his  funeral  oration  on  Turenne, 
when  he  said :  "  Here  I  am  almost  forced  to  interrupt  my 
discourse.  I  am  troubled,  Messieurs!  Turenne  dies  T  and 
when  his  audience,  which  had  been  held  breathless,  at  that 
passage,  burst  forth  into  tears  and  cries. 

One  reason  why  no  description  can  convey  to  another  the 
impression  produced  by  eloquence,  is  because  of  the  im 
possibility  of  reproducing  the  circumstances  which  gave 
effect  to  the  original  utterance.  Of  this  there  is  a  striking 
illustration  in  the  life  of  Whitneld. 

Once,  when  he  had  an  appointment  to  preach  in  London, 
before  the  hour  came,  the  brightness  of  the  morning  was 
eclipsed  by  ominous  and  lurid  clouds.  His  text  was, 
"Strive  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate." 

"See,"  said  he,  pointing  to  a  shadow  that  was  flitting 
across  the  floor — "see  that  emblem  of  human  life."  "See 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  239 

there,"  as  a  flash  of  lightning  lit  up  the  deepening  gloom  of 
the  house.  "  It  is  a  glance  from  the  angry  eye  of  Jehovah !" 

Raising  his  finger  in  a  listening  attitude,  as  the  thunder, 
gradually  growing  louder,  burst  in  one  tremendous  crash 
over  the  building,  he  continued  the  instant  it  ceased:  "It 
was  the  voice  of  God  proclaiming  his  wrath." 

Then,  as  the  sound  died  away,  he  knelt  in  the  pulpit,  and 
covered  his  face  with  his  hands  in  silent  adoration. 

The  audience  that  day  was  under  his  spell,  and  he  swayed 
them  at  pleasure.  This  induced  Dr.  Campbell,  in  his 
sketch  of  Whitfield,  to  say  of  that  discourse,  that  it  was 
easy  to  print  it,  but  the  thunder  and  lightning  could  not  be 
struck  off  by  the  press. 

Neither  the  surrounding  circumstances,  nor  the  magnetic 
currents  which  pass  from  the  speaker  to  his  hearers,  can 
ever  be  reproduced  by  the  narrator,  and  therefore  the  writ 
ten  and  the  reported  speeches  of  an  orator  give  little  idea  of 
his  power. 

The  intoxicating  effect  of  eloquence  is,  indeed,  delightful. 
The  excitement  of  reading  a  good  speech  is  agreeable,  that 
of  reading  a  good  novel  still  more  so,  but  it  is  nothing 
compared  to  the  stimulant  of  hearing  a  great  orator  speak. 
The  effect  of  a  sudden  flash  from  the  brain  of  genius  is  a 
striking  illustration  of  the  direct  influence  of  the  mind  over 
the  physical  system.  As  he  becomes  more  and  more  ex 
cited,  the  speaker  himself  is  almost  transfigured,  his  eyes 
kindle  and  brighten,  and  his  cheeks  grow  rosy,  and  the 
wrinkles  on  his  withered  face  disappear,  and  the  hollow  and 
meagre  features  of  old  age  become  beautiful  objects  to  be 
hold. 

Such,  we  have  seen,  was  the  appearance  of  John  Ran 
dolph,  on  one  occasion,  as  he  walked  across  the  floor  and 
saw  the  people  gather  round  the  stand.  But  if  the  speaker 


240  HOME     REMINISCENCES 

is  transfigured,  the  auditors  are  intoxicated  with  intense  ex 
citement;  every  heart  beats  rapidly,  and  every  bosom  swells 
with  emotion. 

Now,  to  be  able  to  stir  these  absorbing  passions  of  the 
mind,  to  find  one  in  a  calm,  cool  state,  unexcited  by  any 
strong  feeling,  and  in  a  few  moments  to  cause  him  to  blaze 
all  over,  requires  the  most  extraordinary  endowments  which 
the  Creator  bestows  upon  the  creature.  The  mere  dialecti 
cian  cannot  begin  to  excite  those  thoughts,  which  exert  such 
intense  influence  over  an  audience.  Like  a  caterpillar,  he 
crawls  along,  laying  down  his  premises,  step  by  step,  per 
fectly  satisfied  that  his  auditors  are  following  him  through 
his  laborious  journey,  while  the  orator,  with  a  few  rapid 
strides,  gains  in  an  instant  an  object,  which  the  other  never 
can  attain. 

The  instantaneous  change  which  the  feelings  of  his  audi 
tors  underwent  when  Henry  uttered  the  words,  "blood  is 
concerned;"  the  paroxysms  of  emotion  produced  on  the 
other  occasion,  when  he  spoke  of  "double-triggered  loaded 
rifles  cocked  at  your  breast,"  shows  the  powerful  and  myste 
rious  effect  of  a  single  thought.  But  to  be  able  to  conceive, 
and  clothe,  and  speak  that  single  thought,  as  Henry  spoke, 
is,  perhaps,  to  be  endowed  with  all  the  finest  qualities  of  the 
mind,  united  with  great  physical  advantages,  and  adorned 
by  all  the  embellishments  of  art.  A  look  or  a  tone  may  at 
first  seem  accomplishments  of  easy  attainment,  but  when 
they  produce  these  extraordinary  impressions  upon  others, 
they  are  themselves  the  result  of  the  highest  mental  and 
physical  development.  All  the  noblest  qualities  of  the  en 
tire  structure  of  man — body,  mind  and  soul — may  be  re 
quired  to  produce  them.  It  is  deep  feeling  which  makes  the 
sound  that  melts  tears,  and  to  give  the  expression  to  the  eye 
which  kindles  fire  within  the  human  breast,  may  require  the 


OF   JOHN   RANDOLPH.  241 

habitual  indulgence  for  years  in  the  most  ennobling  thoughts. 
An  ignorant,  uncultivated  man,  with  none  of  the  rare  natu 
ral  gifts  of  his  Creator,  cannot  look  like  Patrick  Henry  when 
his  arms  seemed  to  cover  the  whole  house ;  nor  like  John 
Randolph  when  he  was  describing  Napoleon  Bonaparte's 
strides  to  universal  dominion. 

The  following  incident  shows  the  susceptibility  of  Mr. 
Randolph  to  oratorical  excellence,  at  the  same  time  it  affords 
a  striking  proof  of  the  oratorical  powers  of  the  immortal 
Henry. 

We  quote  from  the  manuscripts  of  the  Honorable  James 
W.  Bouldin: 

Mr.  Randolph,  in  speaking  of  Patrick  Henry,  said  "  he  was  profoundly 
wise,"  and  that  "in  eloquence  his  deceit  was  deeper  than  the  bottom  of 
the  sea." 

He  then  told  me  "  that  when  a  lad  he  witnessed  the  trial  of  the  case 
of  the  British  debts,  in  which  Henry  appeared  against  the  payment  of  the 
debts.  When  the  case  was  about  to  come  on  he  (Randolph)  got  near  the 
judges  by  the  favor  of  some  one,  and  retained  his  position  during  the  trial 
for  that  day.  A  dispute  arose  in  a  low  tone  between  the  judges  (Iredell 
and  Chase,  I  think)  as  to  whether  Henry  was  a  great  man  and  an  orator. 
Chase  said  he  was;  Iredell  that  he  was  not.  The  dispute  became  so 
warm  that  they  determined  to  decide  the  question  immediately.  So  when 
John  Marshall,  afterwards  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  had  finished 
speaking,  they  called  on  Henry  next,  though  they  knew  that  he  was  to 
speak  last  on  that  side." 

Mr.  Henry  was  sitting  with  his  head  resting  on  the  bar,  wrapped  up, 
and  appeared  to  be  old  and  infirm,  and  with  unaffected  surprise  raised  his 
head  and  said :  "  They  had  arranged  for  others  to  speak  before  him,  that 
he  was  not  prepared  to  go  on."  The  court  insisted,  but  Henry  urged  his 
age  and  debility  as  a  reason  for  not  taking  the  laboring  oar.  The  court 
insisted  still,  when  at  last  Henry  yielded. 

After  some  short  time  he  commenced  to  raise  himself  up  to  an  erect 
position  in  order  to  speak.    Mr.  Randolph  said  he  "  impressed  him  with 
16 


242  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

the  feeling  that  the  court  were  the  most  cruel  creatures ;  but  he  would 
reflect  that  this  was  all  put  on." 

Henry  complained  before  he  had  gotten  fairly  erect,  that  "  an  old  man,, 
trembling  on  the  brink  of  the  grave,  had  been  made  to  take  the  laboring 
oar  in  that  great  cause  in  preference  to  young  men  in  the  prime  of  life, 
and  much  more  able  than  he  in  his  best  days — he  who  had  been  in  his 
best  days  but  feeble." 

Mr.  Randolph  said  that  he  knew  this  was  all  deceit,  but  still  his  feel 
ings  of  sympathy  would  return,  and  he  would  think  the  court  guilty  of 
the  most  wanton  cruelty. 

Mr.  Randolph  then  gave  an  outline  of  his  progress,  and  compared  him 
to  the  practicing  of  a  four-mile  horse — sometimes  displaying  his  full 
powers  for  a  few  leaps,  and  then  taking  up.  At  last  he  got  up  to  full 
speed,  and  took  a  rapid  view  of  what  England  had  done  when  she  had 
been  unfortunate  in  arms,  and  of  the  condition  of  the  people  during  the 
war,  and  what  would  have  been  their  fate  had  England  been  successful,, 
and  having  arrived  at  the  highest  point  of  elevation,  he  made  one  of  his. 
solemn  pauses,  and  raised  up  his  hands.  Mr.  Randolph  said  they  seemed 
to  cover  the  whole  house.  While  the  color  would  come  and  go  in  the 
face  of  Judge  Chase,  Iredell  sat  with  his  mouth  wide  open,  and  at  this 
pause  exclaimed  :  "  By  G — /  he  is  an  orator" 

There  was  a  general  burst  of  applause  through  the  house,  which  pro 
duced  confusion.  After  a  little  time  Henry  looked  out  at  the  window 
where  there  were  some  horses  on  exhibition  prancing  about  and  neighing. 
He  remarked :  "  It  was  only  some  horses  out  that  had  produced  a  little 
confusion,"  and  went  on  apparently  unconscious  of  what  had  occasioned 
the  interruption. 

Here  the  speaker  had  not  uttered  a  dozen  sentences  be 
fore  he  displayed  the  oratorical  faculty,  producing  a  power 
ful  illusion  upon  the  imagination  of  Mr.  Randolph,  and  we 
presume  of  the  auditors  generally.  But  the  words  used  by 
the  speaker  on  that  occasion  might  well  have  been  employed 
by  one  who  had  no  pretentions  to  oratory. 

What  was  it  which  impressed  Mr.  Randolph  with  the  feel 
ing,  in  spite  of  his  judgment,  that  the  judges  were  the  most 
cruel  creatures  for  insisting  on  Henry's  speaking  first,  and 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  243 

that,  too,  when  he  knew  that  he  was  far  more  able  to  take 
the  laboring  oar,  feeble  as  he  represented  himself  to  be,  than 
any  of  the  learned  counsel  who  were  arranged  to  precede 
him?  It  was  something  which  cannot  be  transmitted  to 
paper ;  it  was  precisely  that  which  made  him  preeminently 
an  orator. 

Mr.  Randolph  was  a  great  actor.  The  reader,  we  dare 
say,  well  remembers  a  passage  in  the  recollections  of  Mr. 
James  M.  Whittle,  which  for  the  better  illustration  of  our 
subject,  we  repeat.  He  says : 

His  words  were  only  a  part  of  the  performance;  the  uttering  of  but  few 
of  these  showed  that  he  was  an  actor.  They  were  few.  So  were  his  ges 
tures.  But  his  gestures  were  as  expressive  as  his  words.  I  had  studied 
some  of  the  orations  of  Cicero,  and  had  read  of  Roscius ;  but  I  could 
not  understand  the  power  of  the  latter  over  his  spectators  until  that  day. 
Had  Mr.  Randolph  lived  when  pantomime  •was  in. vogue,  it  is  not  unlikely 
that  he  could  have  communicated  his  thoughts  and  feelings  effectually^ 
though  he  spake  never  a  word.  As  he  proceeded,  the  impression  was, 
there  is  Cicero  and  Roscius  combined — two  men  in  one — Cicero  within, 
Roscius  without.  The  auditors,  of  course,  yielded  themselves  prompt  and 
willing  captives.  This  combination  required  deliberation  for  its  display ; 
otherwise,  it  cannot  be  conceived  how  so  much  time  was  consumed 
in  uttering  so  few  words,  without  any  apparent  impatience  of  his  hearers, 
or  that  throbbing  twitter  which  is  felt  when  expectation  is  excited  and 
held  too  long  in  suspense. 

After  reading  the  above,  we  were  not  surprised  at  the  fol 
lowing,  which  the  reader  found  in  the  sketch  of  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  by  Dr.  W.  S.  Plumer.  He  says: 

In  the  Virginia  Convention  of  1829  was  a  preacher  (Alexander  Camp 
bell,  we  suppose),  who  had  made  some  noise  in  the  world.  I  was  present 
when  he  rose  to  make  his  address — intended  to  be  powerful.  But  Mr. 
Randolph,  who  was  a  great  actor,  drew  many  eyes  to  himself.  At  first  he 
leaned  forward^  gazed  as  if  in  wonder  and  in  awe.  For  two  or  three  mo 
ments  he  looked  and  acted  as  if  he  expected  something  great.  By  de- 


244  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

grees  he  seemed  to  lose  interest  in  the  speaker,  and  finally  sank  back  into 
his  seat  with  a  strong  expression  of  contempt  on  his  countenance.  He 
had  said  not  a  word  nor  violated  any  parliamentary  law.  The  acting  was 
perfect.  It  had  its  effect.  The  speaker  could  not  rally  the  courage  of  his 
party. 

Nor  did  he  practice  his  art  in  public  only ;  he  carried  it  into 
every-day  life.  In  the  dramatic  scene  at  the  granary  de 
scribed  by  Mr.  Henry  Carrington,  Mr.  Randolph's  acting  is 
pronounced  "inimitable."  His  extraordinary  conduct  at  the 
time  that  the  Hon.  Thomas  S.  Flournoy,  when  a  boy,  with 
his  father  visited  Mr.  Randolph,  was,  in  our  opinion,  acting. 
For  the  whole  programme — his  pretending  that  he  was  dy 
ing,  his  warming  up  with  his  subject  and  surprising  his 
guests  with  a  speech,  his  request  to  have  his  name  with 
drawn  as  a  candidate  for  the  Convention,  bidding  them 
adieu  as  if  he  never  expected  to  see  them  again,  and  after 
wards  mounting  his  horse  and  overtaking  them  on  the  road, 
and  going  to  Halifax  court  next  day  and  making  a  public 
speech — all  flashed  across  his  mind  the  moment  that  his  ser 
vant  announced  that  Mr.  John  James  Flournoy  and  his  son 
were  at  the  door. 

The  actor  uses  arts  which  are  totally  inadmissible  in  the 
•debater.  The  latter  expects  to  be  reported,  and  hopes  his 
speech  will  be  carefully  perused  by  those  who  have  time  to 
weigh  every  argument.  Hence  he  is  exceedingly  particular 
about  his  process  of  reasoning,  the  accuracy  of  his  state 
ments,  and  the  style  of  composition.  He  labors  to  give  it 
exquisite  finish  and  to  enhance  its  value  by  all  the  arts  of 
the  logician.  But  the  orator  is  not  so  mindful  of  these 
things.  If  he  carries  the  crowd  with  him,  he  is  satisfied. 
The  demonstrations  of  the  multitude  do  not  make  Poe  a 
poet  or  Prescott  a  historian;  but  they  do  make  Henry  and 
Randolph  orators. 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  245 

It  matters  not  whether  the  statements  of  the  orator  proper 
are  true  or  false ;  whether  he  covers  the  whole  ground,  or 
jumps  to  conclusions,  or  touches  the  subject  directly  at  all. 
He  may  not  be  logical,  may  not  be  consistent;  yet,  if  he 
sways  the  multitude,  he  is  an  orator. 

Therefore,  he  who  should  undertake  to  assign  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  his  proper  rank  as  an  orator  must  not  sit  down  to  the 
task  with  a  volume  of  his  speeches,  but  with  a  record  of  the 
instantaneous  effects  of  those  speeches. 

Of  the  actual  effects  produced  by  the  speeches  of  Mr. 
Randolph  we  have  the  most  ample  and  satisfactory  proof. 
There  are  still  many  living  witnesses.  True,  it  has  been  a 
long  time  since  the  spell  was  broken ;  but  they  can  testify  as 
clearly  as  if  it  were  but  yesterday  they  felt  his  mental  power. 

The  reader  has  not  forgotten  the  interesting  reminiscences 
of  an  address  delivered  at  Charlotte  Court-house  soon  after 
the  adjournment  of  the  Virginia  Convention  of  1829.  In 
this  address  Mr.  Randolph  was  giving  an  account  of  his 
stewardship  and  the  proceedings  of  said  convention.  It  is 
important  that  we  should  repeat  a  few  words  uttefed  by  the 
speaker  on  that  occasion.  He  said : 

"  I  appear  here  to  take  my  leave  of  you  for  the  last  time. 
What  shall  I  say?  Twenty-eight  years  ago  you  took  me 
by  the  hand,  when  a  beardless  boy,  and  handed  me  to  Con 
gress.  I  have  served  you  in  a  public  capacity  ever  since. 
That  I  have  committed  errors  I  readily  believe,  being  a  de 
scendant  of  Adam,  and  full  of  bruises  and  putrifying  sores 
from  the  crown  of  my  head  to  the  soles  of  my  feet.  People 
of  Charlotte,  which  of  you  is  without  sin?" 

A  voice  in  the  crowd  exclaimed,  "Gracious  God,  what 
preaching !" 

Speaking  of  the  trust  committed  to  him  by  his  constitu- 


246  HOME     REMINISCENCES 

ents,  the  duties  of  which  he  had  so  long  discharged,  he 
made  use  of  the  following  expression : 

"Take  it  back,  take  it  back,"  at  the  same  time  moving  his 
hand  forward  towards  the  multitude. 

Mr.  H.  says  he  instinctively  shrank  back,  feeling  as  if  the 
speaker  was  about  to  roll  a  tremendous  stone  upon  him. 
Just  as  the  orator  concluded,  and  while  still  under  the  intox 
icating  effects  of  his  eloquence,  a  gentleman  standing  neaf 
turned  to  him  and  exclaimed;  "  He  is  almost  a  god." 

In  the  recollections  of  Dr.  C.  H.  Jordan,  the  reader  comes 
across  this  remarkable  passage : 

""  Here  he  drew  a  striking  and  vivid  picture  of  the  ship  of 
state,  sailing  amongst  the  breakers,  and  with  extended  arms 
and  eyes  raised  to  heaven,  he  threw  his  body  forward,  as  if 
to  catch  her,  crying  as  he  did  so,  in  a  half-imploring,  half- 
confident  tone,  '  God  save  the  old  ship.' 

"  It  was  the  most  solemn,  the  most  impressive  gesture  I 
ever  saw  from  any  human  being ;  and  so  powerful  was  the 
impression  made  that  the  whole  multitude,  many  with  ex 
tended  arms,  seemed  to  move  involuntarily  forward,  as  if  to 
save  the  '  old  ship.' " 

It  has  been  said  that  Mr.  Randolph's  greatest  efforts  in 
speaking  were  made  on  the  hustings,  during  his  canvass 
with  Mr.  Eppes,  in  which  he  was  beaten.  Mr.  Bouldin 
heard  many  of  them.  The  greatest  speech  he  ever  made, 
in  his  opinion,  was  the  one  at  Prince  Edward  Court-house, 
in  the  Fall  preceding  the  election. 

His  effort  at  Charlotte  Court-house  is  characterized  as 
being  of  the  "satirical  order."  Severe  repartees  and  sayings 
creating  great  mirth  at  the  expense  of  others,  are  said  to 
have  "overshadowed  in  a  measure  the  able  and  eloquent 
view  he  took  of  the  politics  of  the  day;"  but  the  address  de 
livered  at  Prince  Edward  Court-house  was  "sublime." 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  247 

"He  spoke,"  says  Mr.  Bouldin,  "for  an  hour,  perhaps, 
;and,  when  he  concluded,  I  found  myself  musing  and  walk 
ing  without  any  aim  or  object,  and,  looking  around,  found 
the  crowd  gradually  dispersing  in  the  same  mood.  The 
Rev.  Moses  Hoge  was  sitting  in  a  chair  opposite  him,  and 
remained  till  I  observed  him,  still  with  his  mouth  open  and 
looking  steadily  in  the  same  direction.  Said  he,  to  Parson 
Lyle,  who  was  standing  by  him,  'I  never  heard  the  like 
before,  and  I  never  expect  to  hear  the  like  again.' " 

Mr.  Bouldin,  who  had  heard  all  the  distinguished  orators 
of  that  day,  states  that  he  never  heard  the  like  before  or 
since,  nor  did  he  ever  expect  to  hear  the  like  again. 

Mr.  Sawyer,  his  first  biographer,  speaks  of  Mr.  Ran 
dolph's  sallies  of  wit,  his  biting  sarcasm,  his  happy  retorts 
and  home-thrusts,  his  satiric  turn  or  his  playful  humor,  which 
rendered  him  a  more  agreeable  and  popular  speaker  than 
others  who  were  more  severe  and  elaborate. 

"  If  ridicule,"  says  he,  "be  the  test  of  truth,  he  had  the  most 
effectual  way  of  drawing  her  into  the  light  of  all  the  orators 
of  his  day.  With  this  powerful  lever,"  he  continues,  "he 
-could  shake,  if  not  move  from  its  foundations,  any  adminis 
tration.  That  it  contributed  in  no  small  degree  to  subvert 
that  of  the  second  Adams  no  man  can  doubt,  who  witnessed 
his  repeated  and  dexterous  attacks  and  observed  the  effects 
of  his  peculiar  mode  of  warfare." 

This  is  high  and  just  praise  of  his  powers  of  ridicule;  but 
he  does  not  mention  his  wonderful  powers  of  pathos.  Mr. 
Baldwin,  too,  we  think,  underrates  his  capacity  in  this  re 
spect. 

It  is  not  strange  that  those  who  only  heard  him  in  Con 
gress,  should  labor  under  the  impression  that  Mr.  Randolph 
had  no  pathos ;  but  the  reader  will  remember  that  Mr.  John 
Robinson,  one  of  his  old  constituents,  who  had  heard  all  the 


248  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

distinguished  orators  of  the  day,  from  Patrick  Henry  down, 
gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  "Mr.  Randolph  was  the  most 
pathetic  speaker  he  ever  heard  open  his  lips." 

In  the  halls  of  Congress,  we  presume,  he  seldom,  or  never,, 
indulged  in  that  strain ;  but,  we  are  informed  that  when  he 
declined  to  run  for  Congress,  expecting  to  visit  Europe,  he 
delivered  several  addresses  of  a  character  wholly  different 
from  any  made  by  him  on  any  other  occasion.  While 
riding  around  his  district,  taking  leave  of  his  constituents, 
he  was  placed  under  very  different  circumstances  from  those 
which  called  forth  his  mighty  powers  of  ridicule  and  satire 
in  the  halls  of  Congress.  He  was  in  a  situation  to  counter 
feit  tenderness  and  a  generous  forgiveness,  if  they  did  not 
spring  from  the  heart,  and  to  make  appeals  to  the  sym 
pathies  of  his  constituents  for  having  to  decline  their  service,, 
after  their  long  and  continued  confidence  in  him,  on  the 
ground  of  ill  health. 

These  addresses,  we  are  informed,  were  filled  with  grave 
and  solemn  advices  and  the  most  pathetic  appeals,  with 
out  the  least  allusion  to  party  or  feud,  and  did  more  to 
strengthen  his  popularity,  which,  during  the  war,  had  been 
a  little  shaken,  than  anything  else  he  ever  did.  They 
soothed,  softened  and  set  aside  much  of  the  bitterness  which 
had  been  engendered  during  those  bitter  party  conflicts. 
Mr.  Bouldin  says:  "I  certainly  saw  tears  roll  down  the 
cheeks  of  those  who  hated  him  then,  and  would  curse  his 
memory  now  if  he  were  named  in  their  presence." 

The  deep  and  dark  impression  which  he  was  capable  of 
making  is  only  less  wonderful  than  the  power  of  genius  to 
wipe  it  out. 

The  language  of  the  witness  is  strong,  but  all  of  Mr. 
Randolph's  acquaintances  knew  how  he  could  make  a  man 
hate  him.  His  talents  in  this  respect  were  wonderful.  Let 


OF    JOHN    RANDOLPH.  249' 

the  reader  turn. to  his  speech  on  Retrenchment  and  Reform, 
note  D,  in  the  appendix,  and  there  see  his  attack  upon  Mr. 
C.,  and  tell  us,  if  ever  a  man  had,  to  such  a  degree,  the  fac 
ulty  of  raking  up,  condensing,  and  bringing  into  a  speech 
materials  to  make  a  man  hate  him.  And  let  the  reader  say 
if  an  individual  thus  treated — and  there  were  many  such — 
was  much  to  blame  for  cursing  his  memory  even  after  he 
was  buried. 

Nor  was  it  a  sudden  ebullition  of  passion  with  Mr.  Ran 
dolph,  soon  over  and  forgotten.  All  his  life  he  pursued  his 
opponents,  whose  presence  was  hateful  to  him  and  all  they 
possessed. 

Now,  when  he  had  retired  from  the  victorious  field,  where 
he  had  stirred  up  the  most  violent  feelings,  and  had  left  so 
many  foes  chafing  under  the  wounds  which  he  had  inflicted, 
to  have  chosen  "a  mournful  muse,  soft  pity  to  infuse,"  and 
to  have  persuaded  his  old  constituents  that  "the  heat  and 
collision  produced  by  the  necessary  differences  of  opinion 
among  men,  during  a  period  of  fourteen  years,  had  passed 
off  with  him — that  he  was  not  conscious  of  having  an  enemy 
among  them ;  that,  certainly,  he  did  not  feel  enmity  to  any 
himself;"  and  to  have  expressed  himself  on  this  occasion  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  have  hushed  in  a  moment  the  jarring 
strings,  and  by  a  few  words  of  tenderness  to  have  blotted 
out  a  hundred  bitter  recollections,  and  melted  hearts  which 
had  been  steeled  against  him,  changed  the  current  of  long 
years  of  adverse  feeling,  and  forced  unwilling  tears  down  the 
cheeks  of  hatred  itself,  was  the  highest  effort  of  genius ;  and 
those  tears  will  be  received  by  the  sentinels,  who  guard  the 
temple  of  Fame,  as  an  offering,  which  entitles  the  author  to 
take  his  position  as  an  orator  by  the  side  of  the  immortal 
Henry. 

Mr.  Sawyer,  who  was  an  associate  with  Mr.  Randolph  for 


250  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

sixteen  years  in  Congress,  and  who,  as  we  have  before  stated, 
wrote  a  biographical  sketch  of  him,  expresses  the  opinion 
that  he  "  wanted  the  profound  views  of  a  great  statesman ; 
wanted  consistency  of  political  conduct."  He  says :  "  His 
fame  is  founded  entirely  upon  his  talents  as  an  orator."  But 
he  does  not  speak  in  unqualified  praise  even  of  his  oratory. 
He  characterizes  it  as  "  more  splendid  than  solid.  He  was 
listened  to,"  he  says,  "with  undivided  attention;"  but,  ac 
cording  to  his  view,  the  mind  was  "  fascinated  by  the  ease, 
the  grace,  the  fluency,  and  the  pleasing  emphatic  delivery  of 
the  speaker,  not  chained  and  carried  captive  in  the  triumph 
ant  march  of  a  gigantic  intellect,  by  the  depth  of  research 
and  the  force  of  reasoning." 

We  do  not  now  propose  to  discuss  Mr.  Randolph's  claims 
to  statesmanship,  but  we  feel  compelled  to  differ  with  the 
biographer  with  regard  to  his  oratory. 

After  enumerating  the  bad  qualities  of  his  heart,  and  ex 
pressing  the  opinion  that  there  were  no  redeeming  virtues, 
except  "some  of  a  negative"  kind,  we  could  but  be  disap 
pointed  when  he  spoke  disparagingly  of  the  noble  qualities 
of  his  head. 

We  were  highly  gratified  at  the  manner  in  which  Mr. 
Baldwin  speaks  of  our  distinguished  countryman,  when  he 
says  he  was  "  not  only  a  consistent  statesman,  but  a  great 
man."  But  we  are  confident  that  even  Mr.  Baldwin  fails  to 
do  the  great  Virginia  orator  justice  when  he  expresses  the 
opinion  that  "  Henry  Clay  was  the  more  eloquent  of  the 
two." 

The  reason  which  he  assigns  for  this  opinion  is  this :  He 
claims  that  Mr.  Clay  "spoke  with  more  enthusiasm,  with 
more  loftiness,  with  better  adaptation  to  the  hearts  of  men ; 
and  this  he  says  is  the  most  effective  office  of  eloquence.  It 
takes  more  than  brains  to  make  a  man.  To  convince  the 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  251 

judgment,  you  must  often  do  more  than  show  it  a  good  rea 
son.  You  must  enlist  the  heart,  for  it  sways  the  brains." 

From  all  the  information  which  we  can  gather,  we  are 
forced  to  differ  from  the  learned  critic.  Mr.  Randolph  was 
a  most  enthusiastic  man.  His  deep  feeling  and  highly  ex 
citable  imagination  was  a  marked  feature  of  his  intellectual 
constitution.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  an  individual  of 
his  temperament  could  fail  to  speak  with  the  greatest  enthu 
siasm.  But,  to  speak  with  enthusiasm,  we  submit,  it  is  not 
necessary  to  indulge  in  "sudden  bursts  of  passionate  emo 
tion,"  in  an  "  unpruned  luxuriance  of  gesticulation." 

An  orator  may  be  enthusiastic,  and  still  pronounce  his 
words  "trippingly  on  the  tongue,  not  sawing  the  air  too 
much  with  his  hands,  but  using  all  gently;  for  in  the  very 
torrent,  tempest,  and,  as  we  may  say,  whirlwind  of  the  pas 
sions,  you  must  acquire  and  beget  a  temperance  that  may 
give  it  smoothness." 

This  is  precisely  the  character  which  has  been  given  to 
Mr.  Randolph's  oratory.  He  spoke  so  clearly,  and  with 
such  perfect  pronunciation,  that  as  far  as  his  voice  could  be 
heard  his  words  could  be  distinguished.  "An  accurate  ear 
could  discern,  as  he  went  along,  commas,  semi-colons,  colons, 
periods,  exclamation  and  interrogation  points,  all  in  their 
proper  places."  One  of  the  gentlemen  who  has  furnished 
us  with  interesting  data  upon  this  subject,  states  that  "his 
manner  was  deliberate,  beyond  that  of  any  speaker  he  had 
ever  heard,  not  only  every  word  and  syllable,  but  it  seemed 
that  every  letter  of  every  syllable  in  every  word  was  dis 
tinctly  sounded." 

And  still  we  contend  he  spoke  with  enthusiasm,  with  a 
warm  imagination  and  feelings  wrought  up  to  the  highest 
pitch  of  excitement.  The  last  speech  he  ever  made  to  the 
people  of  Charlotte  was  the  effect  of  the  most  enthusiastic 


252  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

and  unheard  of  devotion  to  an  idea.  Nothing  else  could 
have  roused  his  palsied  faculties  and  set  his  worn-out  frame 
in  motion. 

Mr.  Clay  had  the  art  of  making  men  in  love  with  his 
views  and  with  himself.  Mr.  Randolph  may  not  have  had 
the  same  talent  to  an  equal  degree,  but  that  does  not  affect 
the  question  whether  he  spoke  with  as  much  enthusiasm. 

As  to  "loftiness,"  we  should  not  suppose  that  the  "grave 
and  sublime"  address  delivered  at  Prince  Edward  by  Mr. 
Randolph,  in  wrhich  he  took  such  "an  able  and  eloquent 
view  of  the  politics  of  that  day,"  was  ever  surpassed  by  Mr. 
Clay.  This  was  the  opinion  of  some  who  had  heard  both, 
and  would  be,  we  imagine,  the  opinion  of  a  majority. 

As  to  "enlisting  the  heart,  and  thereby  swaying  the 
brains,"  after  all  the  evidence  we  have  adduced  of  the 
ability  of  Mr.  Randolph  to  excite  the  tender  sensibilities  of 
his  audience,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  enlarge.  We  think 
we  have  shown  him  equal  to  Henry  in  pathos,  and  that  is 
sufficient.  We  must  be  permitted,  however,  to  observe  that 
it  would  be  difficult  to  persuade  those  enemies  of  Mr.  Ran 
dolph,  who  shed  tears  of  sympathy  for  him,  that  Mr.  Clay, 
or  any  other  man,  could  have  so  drowned  their  senses,  so 
intoxicated  their  brains. 

It  does  not  alter  the  case  that  Mr.  Randolph  did  not 
choose  to  speak  often  in  that  strain.  A  few  instances  are 
sufficient  to  establish  his  capacity;  as  to  how  often  he 
exerted  it,  it  is  immaterial. 

"  In  particular  passages,"  continues  the  gifted  writer,  last 
quoted,  "  he  was  brilliant  as  Curran  and  Grattan ;  in  all,  he 
was  interesting,  enchaining  attention,  gratifying  an  exquisite 
taste,  imparting  instruction,  and  frequently  moulding  convic 
tion  ;  but  the  permanent  impression  left  was  not  so  strong." 

Now,  as  we  have  argued,  this  "permanent"  impression  is 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  253 

not  the  criterion  of  eloquence.  When  we  are  comparing 
the  eloquence  of  two  great  orators,  the  question  is  not  the 
permanent  impression,  but  the  instantaneous  impression.  As 
in  the  case  of  Mr.  Henry,  one  of  our  witnesses,  of  whom 
we  have  already  spoken,  we  do  not  inquire  whether  the 
speaker  advanced  arguments  which  stood  the  test  of  his 
sober  reason  a  month  afterwards ;  but  did  the  orator  over 
power  his  reason  for  the  moment,  and  seize  upon  his  imagi 
nation  with  such  force  as  to  make  him  actually  feel  that  he 
was  rolling  a  great  weight  upon  him  ? 

In  the  case  of  the  jury,  which  Mr.  Henry  addressed,  they 
acquitted  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  under  the  immediate  effects 
of  his  speech.  It  is  useless  to  inquire  how  strong  was  the 
impression  of  innocence  a  few  days  afterwards.  The  work 
of  the  orator  was  done.  Mr.  Bouldin,  another  of  our  wit 
nesses,  does  not  inform  us  how  strong  was  the  permanent 
impression  made  upon  him  and  others  by  the  great  speech 
of  Mr.  Randolph  at  Prince  Edward  Court-house;  but  it  is 
sufficient  that  he  states,  when  he  concluded,  he  found  himself 
walking  and  musing  without  any  aim  or  object — an  evidence 
that  all  his  senses  had  been  completely  absorbed,  and  that 
he  had  been  wholly  under  the  mental  influence  of  another. 
We  are  not  informed  whether  Mr.  Hoge's  judgment  was  so 
well  addressed  by  arguments  that  he  voted  for  Mr.  Randolph 
at  the  polls;  but  we  are  told  that  while  listening  to  his 
speech  he  sat  with  his  mouth  wide  open,  and  remained  in 
that  state  for  several  minutes  after  the  speaker  had  retired 
from  the  stand.  The  individual,  who  thought  the  orator 
"  almost  a  god"  at  the  moment,  may  have  taken  him  for  a 
•devil  the  next  day ;  but  still  the  powerful  illusion  created  at 
the  time  is  proof  of  eloquence  of  the  highest  degree.  The 
feeling  of  sympathy  which  came  over  Mr.  Randolph  him 
self,  while  Henry  was  speaking,  was  momentary,  and  yet  it 


254  HOME     REMINISCENCES 

is  adduced  as  a  proof  that  "Henry's  deceit  in  eloquence 
was  deeper  than  the  bottom  of  the  sea." 

But  is  it  entirely  certain  that  Mr.  Clay  surpassed  Mr. 
Randolph  in  the  "permanent  impression?"  If  one  of  his 
old  constituents  were  interrogated  on  this  point,  he  would 
say,  Mr.  Randolph's  eloquence,  at  a  distance  of  thirty  years, 
still  haunts  his  mind ;  and  if  he  chanced  to  be  one  of  the 
victims  of  his  eloquence  of  scorn,  when  brought  to  the  con 
fessional  he  would  be  forced  to  acknowledge  that  his  wounds 
were  still  bleeding,  that  his  memory,  in  reviewing  the  dark 
passages  of  his  life,  would  forget  the  bitter  words  of  all  infe 
rior  men,  and  dwell  with  hopeless  persistency  upon  the 
inflictions  of  that  long,  bony  finger. 

When  Mr.  Sawyer  states  that,  as  an  orator,  Mr.  Randolph 
was  more  "splendid  than  solid,"  we  confess  we  do  not  know 
his  precise  meaning.  Solidity  is  not  the  criterion  of  elo 
quence.  If  he  had  said  that  as  a  logician  he  was  "  more 
splendid  than  solid,  we  should  not  be  at  a  loss  to  understand 
him.  We  suspect  that  Mr.  Sawyer  was  criticising  Mr.  Ran 
dolph's  printed  speeches  instead  of  his  oratory.  But,  even 
on  this  hypothesis,  in  our  humble  opinion,  he  is  mistaken. 
His  speeches  are  more  "solid"  than  "splendid."  As  an 
orator  he  was  perfect ;  but  the  most  of  the  splendor  vanished 
the  moment  his  words  were  printed.  We  look  upon  them 
as  we  would  the  instrument  of  some  celebrated  musician 
who  had  departed  this  life.  The  keys  are  in  place  and 
strings  in  repair,  but  the  music  is  wanting. 

Though  we  can  form  very  little  idea  of  Mr.  Randolph's 
splendor  as  an  orator,  the  solid  part  of  the  performance  re 
mains.  We  should  like  to  be  informed  whose  speeches  were 
more  "solid"  than  Mr.  Randolph's.  Mr.  Baldwin  tells  us 
truly,  that  "  most  largely  developed  of  all  his  faculties,  prob 
ably,  was  his  quick,  clear  and  deep  comprehension."  One 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  255- 

of  our  own  witnesses  states,  that  he  "thought  more  philo 
sophically  and  profoundly  than  any  man  he  ever  saw;" 
another,  that  "his  conceptions  were  vast  and  powerful;"' 
and  still  another,  that  he  took  an  "  able  view  of  the  politics, 
of  the  day;"  and  yet  another  will  come  forward  and  testify, 
that  "the  speeches  of  this  remarkable  man  were  character 
ized  by  all  that  is  conclusive  in  argument,  original  in  con 
ception,  felicitous  in  illustration,  forcible  in  language,  and 
faultless  in  delivery." 

We  have  expressed  the  opinion  that  a  speaker  is  not 
obliged  to  be  argumentative  in  order  to  be  solid.  In  his 
public  addresses  or  his  private  conversations  he  may  be 
deep  and  mould  conviction  too,  and  still  not  go  through  the 
form  of  a  single  argument.  Mr.  Randolph's  speeches  are 
filled  with  as  much  good,  sound  sense  as  any  man's  we  ever 
read,  and  contain  as  many  ideas  in  a  single  page.  For, 
while  some  consume  much  time  in  laying  down  premises 
and  advancing  to  conclusions  step  by  step,  he  arrived  at 
his  conclusion  at  once,  and  condensed  a  long  argument  into 
a  few  words. 

If  Mr.  Sawyer  meant  to  say  that  Mr.  Randolph  was  too 
scattering,  that  he  wanted  connection  and  continuity,  we 
refer  him  to  the  fable  of  the  caterpillar  and  the  horseman. 
The  critic  speaks  as  if  he  had  a  book  of  his  orations  in  his. 
hands  and  was  reading  them  at  leisure.  The  man  who  reads 
a  speech  with  a  view  of  estimating  oratorical  excellence  for 
gets  that  he  cannot  be  hurried  along  with  the  speaker  as  his 
auditors  were,  that  he  cannot  assume  the  same  state  of  feel 
ing  which  the  orator  addressed. 

But  if  he  has  no  better  means  of  estimating  the  genius  of 
the  orator  than  his  printed  speeches,  the  effect  produced  by 
the  first  rapid  perusal  is  the  surest  test.     "It  requires  re 
peated  perusal  and  reflection,"  says  Mr.  Macaulay,  "to  de- 


256  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

cide  rightly  on  any  other  portion  of  literature.  But  with 
respect  to  the  works  of  which  the  merit  depends  on  their 
instantaneous  effect,  the  most  hasty  judgment  is  likely  to  be 
the  best." 

This  being  the  case,  we  should  do  the  orator  an  injustice 
if  we  go  back  to  correct  an  argument  or  exaggerated  state 
ment,  or  to  expose  sophistry,  or  to  exclude  extraneous  mat 
ter;  because  fallacies  of  that  description  are  supposed  to 
have  been  overlooked  by  the  hearers  in  the  bustle  of  the 
mental  faculties,  which  are  hurried  along  from  point  to  point 
by  the  new  scenes  presented  in  the  kaleidoscope-world  of 
the  orator. 

There  is  no  record  of  more  powerful  effects  produced 
upon  an  audience  by  any  man  than  those  we  have  men 
tioned  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Randolph.  If,  therefore,  we  be 
correct  in  stating  that  the  merit  of  oratory  consists  in  its 
immediate  effect,  if  he  who  sways  the  multitude  at  the  time 
be  an  orator,  then  we  have  no  hesitation  in  pronouncing 
John  Randolph  as  great  an  orator  as  ever  lived. 


OF  JOHN   RANDOLPH.  257 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


Death  Bed  Scene — Visit  to  His  Grave  by  Capt.  Harrison    Robertson — 
Closing  Reflections. 

A  FEW  months  before  his  death,  Mr.  Randolph  deter 
mined  again  to  visit  England,  the  climate  of  which  he 
thought,  above  all  others,  most  agreed  with  his  shat 
tered  constitution,  where,  to  use  his  own  language,  he  "  hoped 
to  eke  out  yet,  the  last  remains  of  his  toilsome  life."  His  in 
tention  was  to  go  to  Philadelphia  to  be  in  time  for  the  packet 
which  would  sail  from  the  Delaware  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
month  of  April.  When  he  arrived  in  Washington,  he  pro 
ceeded  at  once  to  the  Senate  Chamber  and  took  his  seat  in 
rear  of  Mr.  Clay.  That  gentleman  happened  at  the  time  to 
be  on  his  feet,  addressing  the  Senate.  "  Raise  me  up,"  said 
Mr.  Randolph,  "  I  want  to  hear  that  voice  again."  When 
Mr.  Clay  had  concluded  his  remarks  he  turned  round  to  see 
from  what  quarter  that  singular  voice  proceeded.  Seeing 
Mr.  Randolph,  and  that  he  was  in  a  dying  condition,  he  left 
his  place  and  went  to  speak  to  him ;  as  he  approached,  Mr. 
Randolph  said  to  the  gentleman  with  him,  "  Raise  me  up." 
As  Mr.  Clay  offered,  his  hand,  he  said,  "Mr.  Randolph  I 
hope  you  are  better,  sir."  "No,  sir,"  replied  Mr.  Randolph, 
"  I  am  a  dying  man,  and  I  came  here  expressly  to  have  this 
interview  with  you."  They  clasped  hands  and  parted  never 
to  meet  again.  He  hurried  on  to  Philadelphia,  where  he 
was  taken  very  ill. 


258  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

For  the  following  highly  interesting  account  of  the  closing 
scene  we  are  indebted  to  Mr.  Garland : 

Dr.  Joseph  Parish,  a  Quaker  physician,  was  sent  for.  As  he  entered  the 
room,  the  patient  said,  "I  am  acquainted  with  you,  sir,  by  character.  I 
know  you  through  Giles."  He  then  told  the  doctor  that  he  had  attended 
several  courses  on  anatomy,  and  described  his  symptoms  with  medical  ac 
curacy,  declaring  he  must  die  if  he  could  not  discharge  the  puriform 
matter. 

"  How  long  have  you  been  sick,  Mr.  Randolph?" 

"  Don't  ask  me  that  question;  I  have  been  sick  all  my  life.  I  have 
been  affected  with  my  present  disease,  however,  for  three  years.  It  was 
greatly  aggravated  by  my  voyage  to  Russia.  That  killed  me,  sir.  This 
Russian  expedition  has  been  Pultowa,  a  Beresina  to  me." 

The  doctor  now  felt  his  pulse.  "You  can  form  no  judgment  by  my 
pulse;  it  is  so  peculiar." 

"  You  have  been  so  long  an  invalid  Mr.  Randolph,  you  must  have 
acquired  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  general  course  of  practice  adapted 
to  your  case." 

"  Certainly,  sir;  at  forty,  a  fool  or  a  physician  you  know." 

"There  are  idiosyncracies,"  said  the  doctor,  "in  many  constitutions.  I 
wish  to  ascertain  what  is  peculiar  about  you." 

"  I  have  been  an  idiosyncrasy  all  my  life.  All  the  preparations  of  cam 
phor  invariably  injure  me.  As  to  ether,  it  will  blow  me  up.  Not  so  with 
opium ;  I  can  take  opium  like  a  Turk,  and  have  been  in  the  habitual  use 
of  it  in  one  shape  or  another  for  some  time." 

Before  the  doctor  retired,  Mr.  Randolph's  conversation  became  curiously 
diversified.  He  introduced  the  subject  of  the  Quakers;  complimented 
them  in  his  peculiar  manner,  for  neatness  and  economy,  order,  comfort — 
in  everything.  "  Right,"  said  he,  "  in  everything  except  politics — there 
always  twistical."  He  then  repeated  a  portion  of  the  Litany  of  the  Epis 
copal  church  with  apparent  fervor.  The  following  morning  the  doctor 
was  sent  for  very  early.  He  was  called  from  bed.  Mr.  Randolph  apolo 
gized  very  handsomely  for  disturbing  him.  Something  was  proposed  for 
•his  relief.  He  petulantly  and  positively  refused  compliance.  The  doctor 
paused  and  addressed  a  few  words  to  him.  He  apologized  and  was  as 
submissive  as  an  infant.  One  evening  a  medical  consultation  was  pro 
posed;  he  promptly  objected.  "In  a  multitude  of  counsel,"  he  said, 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  259 

"there  is  confusion;  it  leads  to  weakness  and  indecision;  the  patient  may 
die  while  the  doctors  are  staring  at  each  other."  Whenever  Dr.  Parish 
parted  from  him,  especially  at  night,  he  would  receive  the  kindest  ac 
knowledgments,  in  the  most  affectionate  tones.  "  God  bless  you ;  he  does 
bless  you,  and  he  will  bless  you." 

The  night  preceding  his  death,  the  doctor  passed  about  two  hours  in  his 
chamber.  In  a  plaintive  tone  he  said,  "  My  poor  John,  sir,  is  worn  down 
with  fatigue,  and  has  been  compelled  to  go  to  bed.  A  most  attentive  sub 
stitute  supplies  his  place,  but  neither  he  nor  you,  sir,  are  like  John;  he 
knows  where  to  place  his  hand  on  anything  in  a  large  quantity  of  baggage 
prepared  for  a  European  voyage."  The  patient  was  greatly  distressed  in 
breathing,  in  consequence  of  difficult  expectoration.  He  requested  the 
doctor  at  his  next  visit  to  bring  instruments  for  performing  the  operation 
of  bronchotomy,  for  he  could  not  live  unless  relieved.  He  then  directed 
a  certain  newspaper  to  be  brought  to  him.  He  put  on  his  spectacles 
as  he  sat  propped  up  in  bed,  turned  over  the  paper  several  times, 
and  examined  it  carefully,  then  placing  his  finger  on  a  part  he  had 
selected,  handed  it  to  the  doctor  with  a  request  that  he  would 
read  it.  It  was  headed  "Cherokee."  In  the  course  of  reading, 
the  doctor  came  to  the  word  "omnipotence"  and  pronounced  it  with  a 
full  sound  on  the  penultimate— omnipotence.  Mr.  Randolph  checked 
him  and  pronounced  the  word  according  to  Walker.  The  doctor  at 
tempted  to  give  a  reason  for  his  pronunciation.  "Pass  on,"  was  the 
quick  reply.  The  word  impetus  was  then  pronounced  with  the  e  long, 
impetus.  He  was  instantly  corrected.  The  doctor  hesitated  on  the  criti 
cism.  "There  can  be  no  doubt  of  it,  sir."  An  immediate  acknowledg 
ment  of  the  reader  that  he  stood  corrected,  appeared  to  satisfy  the  critic, 
and  the  piece  was  concluded.  The  doctor  observed  that  there  was  a  great 
deal  of  sublimity  in  the  composition.  He  directly  referred  to  the  Mosaic 
account  of  the  creation,  and  repeated,  "Let  there  be  light  and  there  was 
light."  There  is  sublimity. 

Next  morning  (the  day  on  which  he  died),  Dr.  Parish  received  an  early 
and  urgent  message  to  visit  him.  Several  persons  were  in  the  room,  but 
soon  left  it,  except  John,  who  was  much  affected  at  the  sight  of  his  dying 
master.  The  doctor  remarked  to  him,  "  I  have  seen  your  master  very  low 
before  and  he  revived;  and  perhaps  he  will  again!  "John  knows  better 
than  that,  sir."  He  then  looked  at  the  doctor  with  great  intensity,  and 
said  in  an  earnest  and  distinct  manner,  "  I  confirm  every  disposition  in  my 


260  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

will,  especially  that  respecting  my  slaves,  whom  I  have  manumitted,  and 
for  whom  I  have  made  provision." 

"I  am  rejoiced  to  hear  such  a  declaration  from  you,  sir,"  replied  the 
doctor,  and  soon  after  proposed  to  leave  him  for  a  short  time,  to  attend  to 
another  patient.  "You  must  not  go"  was  the  reply;  "you  cannot,  you 
shall  not  leave  me.  John,  take  care  that  the  doctor  does  not  leave  the 
room."  John  soon  locked  the  door,  and  reported,  "  Master,  I  have  locked 
the  door  and  got  the  key  in  my  pocket,  the  doctor  can't  go  now." 

He  seemed  excited  and  said,  "if  you  do  go,  you  need  not  return." 
The  doctor  appealed  to  him  as  to  the  propriety  of  such  an  order,  inasmuch 
as  he  was  only  desirous  of  discharging  his  duty  to  another  patient.  His 
manner  instantly  changed,  and  he  said,  "  I  retract  that  expression."  Some 
time  afterwards,  turning  an  expressive  look,  he  said  again,  "  I  retract  that 
expression." 

The  doctor  now  said  that  he  understood  the  subject  of  his  communica 
tion,  and  presumed  the  will  would  explain  itself  fully.  He  replied  in 
his  peculiar  way,  "No  you  don't  understand  it;  I  know  you  don't.  Our 
laws  are  extremely  particular  on  the  subject  of  slaves.  A  will  may 
manumit  them,  but  provision  for  their  subsequent  support,  requires  that 
a  declaration  be  made  in  the  presence  of  a  white  witness ;  and  it  is  requi 
site  that  the  witness,  after  hearing  Ihe  declaration,  should  continue  with 
the  party,  and  never  lose  sight  of  him,  until  he  is  gone  or  dead.  You  are 
a  good  witness  for  John.  You  see  the  propriety  and  importance  of  your 
remaining  with  me;  your  patients  must  make  allowance  for  your  situation. 
John  told  me  this  morning,  "  Master,  you  are  dying." 

The  doctor  spoke  with  entire  candor  and  replied,  that  it  was  a  matter  of 
surprise  that  he  had  lasted  so  long.  He  now  made  his  preparations  to  die. 
He  directed  John  to  bring  him  his  father's  breast  button ;  he  then  directed 
him  to  place  it  in  the  bosom  of  his  shirt.  It  was  an  old-fashioned  large- 
sized  gold  stud.  John  'placed  it  in  the  bosom  hole  of  his  shirt-bosom — 
but  to  fix  it  completely  required  a  hole  on  the  opposite  side.  "Get  a 
knife,"  said  he,  "and  cut  one."  A  napkin  was  called  for,  and  placed  by 
John  over  his  breast.  For  a  short  time  he  lay  perfectly  quiet,  with  his 
eyes  closed.  He  suddenly  roused  up  and  exclaimed,  "  Remorse !  Re 
morse!"  It  was  thrice  repeated,  the  last  time  at  the  top  of  his  voice, 
with  great  agitation.  He  cried  out,  "  Let  me  see  the  word.  Get  a  dic 
tionary,  let  me  see  the  word."  "  There  is  none  in  the  room,  sir."  "  Write 
it  down  then — let  me  see  the  word."  The  doctor  picked  up  one  of  his 


OF  JOHN   RANDOLPH.  261 

«ards,  "  Randolph  of  Roanoke  " — "  shall  I  write  it  on  this  card  ?"  "  Yes, 
nothing  more  proper."  The  word  remorse  was  then  written  in  pencil. 
He  took  the  card  in  a  hurried  manner  and  fastened  his  eyes  on  it  with 
great  intensity.  "  Write  it  on  the  back,"  he  exclaimed.  It  was  done  so 
and  handed  him  again.  He  was  extremely  agitated.  "  Remorse !  you 
have  no  idea  what  it  is ;  you  can  form  no  idea  of  it,  whatever;  it  has 
contributed  to  bring  me  to  my  present  situation ;  but  I  have  looked  to  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  I  hope  I  have  obtained  pardon.  Now,  let  John 
take  your  pencil  and  draw  a  line  under  the  word,"  which  was  accordingly 
done.  "  What  am  I  to  do  with  the  card  ?"  inquired  the  doctor.  "  Put  it 
in  your  pocket ;  take  care  of  it;  when  I  am  dead,  look  at  it." 

The  doctor  now  introduced  the  subject  of  calling  in  some  additional 
witnesses  to  his  declarations,  and  suggested  sending  down  stairs  for  Ed 
mund  Badger.  He  replied,  "I  have  already  communicated  that  to  him." 
The  doctor  then  said,  "With  your  concurrence,  sir,  I  will  send  for  two 
young  physicians,  who  shall  remain  and  never  lose  sight  of  you  until  you 
are  dead ;  to  whom  you  can  make  your  declarations — my  son,  Dr.  Isaac 
Parish,  and  my  young  friend  and  late  pupil,  Dr.  Francis  West,  a  brother 
of  Capt.  West." 

He  quickly  asked,  "Capt  West  of  the  packet?"  "Yes,  sir,  the  same." 
"Send  for  him — he  is  the  man — I'll  have  him." 

Before  the  door  was  unlocked  he  pointed  toward  a  bureau  and  requested 
the  doctor  to  take  from  it  a  remuneration  for  his  services.  To  this  the 
doctor  promptly  replied,  that  he  would  feel  as  though  he  were  acting  indeli 
cately  to  comply.  He  then  waived  the  subject  by  saying,  "  In  England  it 
is  customary." 

The  witnesses  were  now  sent  for,  and  soon  arrived.  The  dying  man 
•was  propped  up  in  the  bed  with  pillows,  nearly  erect.  Being  extremely 
sensitive  to  cold  he  had  a  blanket  over  his  head  and  shoulders;  and  he 
directed  John  to  place  his  hat  on,  over  the  blanket,  which  aided  in  keep 
ing  it  close  to  his  head.  With  a  countenance  full  of  sorrow,  John  stood 
close  by  the  side  of  his  dying  master.  The  four  witnesses — Edmund 
Badger,  Francis  West,  Isaac  Parish,  and  Joseph  Parish,  were  placed  in  a 
semi-circle  in  full  view.  He  rallied  all  the  expiring  energies  of  mind  and 
body,  to  this  last  effort.  "His  whole  soul,"  says  Dr.  Parish,  "seemed 
concentrated  in  the  act.  His  eyes  flashed  feeling  and  intelligence.  Point- 
Ing  toward  us,  with  his  long  index  finger,  he  addressed  us." 

"  I  confirm  all  the  directions  in  my  will,  respecting  my  slaves,  and  di- 


262  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

rect  them  to  be  enforced,  particularly  in  regard  to  a  provision  for  their 
support."  And  then  raising  his  arm  as  high  as  he  could,  he  brought  it 
down  with  his  open  hand,  on  the  shoulder  of  his  favorite,  John,  and 
added  these  words,  "  especially  for  this  man."  He  then  asked  each  of 
the  witnesses  whether  they  understood  him.  Dr.  Joseph  Parish  explained 
to  them  what  Mr.  Randolph  had  said  in  regard  to  the  laws  of  Virginia, 
on  the  subject  of  manumission,  and  then  appealed  to  the  dying  man  to 
know  whether  he  had  stated  it  correctly.  "  Yes,"  said  he,  and  gracefully 
waving  his  hand  as  a  token  of  dismission,  he  said,  "The  young  gentle 
men  will  remain  with  me.'' 

The  scene  was  now  changed.  Having  disposed  of  that  subject  most 
deeply  impressed  on  his  heart,  his  keen  penetrating  eye  lost  its  expression, 
his  powerful  mind  gave  way,  and  his  fading  imagination  began  to  wander 
amid  scenes  and  with  friends  that  he  had  left  behind.  In  two  hours  the 
spirit  took  its  flight,  and  all  that  was  mortal  of  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke 
was  hushed  in  death.  At  a  quarter  before  twelve  o'clock,  on  the  24th 
day  of  June,  1833,  aged  sixty  years,  he  breathed  his  last." 

For  the  following  interesting  sketch  we  are  indebted  to 
Capt.  Harrison  Robertson,  of  Danville,  Va: 

In  1839,  he  says,  being  a  student  at  Hampden  Sidney  College,  I  visited, 
in  company  with  several  fellow  students,  the  residence  of  John  Randolph, 
of  Roanoke.  His  will  being  at  that  time  the  subject  of  litigation,  his  es 
tate  appeared  to  be  in  a  condition  of  neglect.  The  grounds  surrounding 
the  dwelling  were  entirely  destitute  of  ornament.  The  negro,  John,  who 
had  been  Mr.  Randolph's  body-servant  and  constant  attendant  for  many 
years,  received  us  and  showed  us  the  objects  of  interest  connected  with  the 
place. 

There  were  two  buildings,  one  a  log  house  with  two  rooms,  the  floor 
raised  but  a  foot  or  two  above  the  ground,  of  a  style  and  material  the 
rudest,  and  such  as  belonged  to  the  poorest  class  of  white  persons  in  the 
rural  districts  of  Virginia.  The  single  door  opened  into  the  sitting  room, 
which  communicated  by  an  inner  door  with  his  bed  room.  The  other 
building  was  a  small  framed  house  which  stood  about  twenty  yards  off, 
with  large,  well-glazed  windows,  containing  two  rooms  on  the  ground  floor, 
raised  a  few  feet  above  the  ground,  evidently  built  long  after  the  log 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  263 

house,  of  better  material  and  more  civilized  style  of  finish.  John  called 
this  his  master's  "Summer  House;"  the  log  house  his  "Winter  House." 

Entering  the  log  house  we  found  every  article  of  furniture  remaining 
exactly  (John  assured  us)  as  it  had  been  left  by  Mr.  Randolph  at  the  time 
of  his  departure  for  Philadelphia  on  his  last  journey. 

At  this  distance  of  time,  many  particulars  which  then  interested  me 
have  escaped  my  recollection.  The  furniture,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
articles,  was  very  plain.  I  recollect  his  fowling  piece?,  pistols,  etc.,  of  ex 
quisite  manufacture;  also  his  fair  top  boots  of  the  best  materials  and  finish. 
But  that  which  I  recollect  with  most  distinctness,  in  regard  to  this  sitting 
room,  was  a  small,  old  fashioned  mahogany  stand,  upon  which  laid  a 
plain  leather  portfolio,  a  candlestick,  and  a  half-consumed  candle,  and 
one  or  two  books.  John  informed  us  that  this  stand  and  what  was  upon 
it,  remained  as  it  was  left  by  his  master  when  he  ceased  reading  and  went 
to  bed,  the  night  before  he  started  for  Philadelphia.  One  of  the  books 
was  open  and  laid  upon  the  open  pages,  the  back  upwards,  as  if  it  had 
just  been  put  down  by  the  reader.  It  was  a  thin  duodecimo  volume, 
bound  in  discolored  sheepskin.  On  examination,  I  was  surprised  to  find 
this  book  was  McNish  on  Drunkenness.  I  opened  the  portfolio  and  found 
writing  paper,  some  blank  and  some  manuscripts  in  Mr.  Randolph's  own 
hand  writ;ng.  I  recollect  particularly  a  sheet  of  foolscap  which  had  not 
been  folded,  with  the  caption,  "A  LIST  OF  MY  PRINCIPAL  FRIENDS," 
followed  by  a  list  of  names,  numbered  i,  2,  3,  4,  &c.,  the  numbers  (if  my 
memory  be  correct)  running  as  high  as  20.  The  list  covered  two  or  three 
pages.  On  the  right  hand  side  of  the  pages,  opposite  to  each  name,  or  to 
many  of  the  names,  were  remarks  indicating  Mr.  Randolph's  estimate  of 
the  character  of  the  persons  named,  or  some  special  circumstance  of  his 
history  or  friendship.  Among  the  first,  if  not  the  first,  was  the  name  of 
Thomas  H.  Benton.  Near  the  middle  or  latter  part  of  the  list  was  the 
name  of  Robert  Carrington,  with  the  remark  opposite — Mr.  Randolph 
"  admired  him  for  his  courage,  honor,  and  manliness,"  or  words  to  that  ef 
fect.  I  learned  at  the  time  and  afterwards  that  this  Mr.  Carrington  had 
emigrated  from  Virginia  to  Arkansas,  with  his  family,  after  having  lived 
many  years  on  a  plantation  adjoining  Mr.  Randolph's,  and  that  they  had 
been  at  dagger's  draw  for  years,  and  that  no  reconciliation  had  ever  taken 
place  between  them. 

In  the  bed  room  we  found  the  furniture  generally  of  the  same  simple 
description.  The  garments  and  personal  apparel  were  in  some  instances 


264  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

costly  and  elegant.  The  room  was  ill-lighted  and  must  have  been  badly 
ventilated  from  the  small  size  of  the  windows,  unless  the  cracks  in  the 
log  walls  aided  in  ventilation.  On  the  wall  above  the  bed,  hung  a  por 
trait  of  Mr.  Randolph  (in  oil.)  I  have  forgotten  the  name  of  the  artist, 
but  the  painting  was  well  done.  I  distinctly  recollect  the  beardless  boyish 
appearance  of  the  face.  In  the  "  Summer  House"  we  found  a  library  of 
perhaps  more  than  a  thousand  volumes,  embracing  many  of  the  standard 
authors  of  pure  "English  undefiled,"  of  choice  editions  and  binding; 
also  a  number  of  fine  engravings  (without  frames)  and  books  and  prints  of 
art  and  science.  I  saw  no  musical  instruments.  There  were  many  manu 
script  letters,  notes  and  cards,  invitations  to  dinners,  &c.,  which  had  been 
received  by  Mr.  Randolph — some  of  them  from  persons  of  the  highest 
distinction  both  in  England  and  America.  Doubtless,  many  of  the  like 
kind  had  disappeared  before  our  visit ;  for  John  made  no  objection,  but 
rather  encouraged  us,  to  take  away  some  of  the  notes,  invitations,  cards, 
etc.,  as  souvenirs  of  our  visit. 

The  grave  of  Mr.  Randolph  was  near  his  dwelling  house,  at  the  foot  of 
a  tall  pine  tree,  the  shadows  of  which  together  with  the  unfriendly  soil, 
prevented  the  growth  of  grass  upon  it.  It  was  marked  by  no  monument 
save  a  large  unshapely  stone,  placed  at  the  head.  We  were  told  by  John 
that  his  master  caused  the  rock  to  be  hauled  from  another  part  of  the 
plantation  with  considerable  labor  and  difficulty,  and  commanded  that  it 
should  be  placed  at  his  grave  at  his  death,  and  that  there  should  be  no 
other  monument,  and  no  inscription  or  epitaph. 

The  reader  is  now  in  possession  of  all  the  facts.  He  has 
doubtless  formed  his  own  opinion.  It  was  our  plan  for  him 
to  do  so.  Our  views  are  merely  given  as  a  connecting  link 
to  hold  our  materials  together.  The  facts,  anecdotes,  and 
incidents,  which  we  have  recorded,  are  so  pointed  and  char 
acteristic,  that,  apart  from  the  office  above  indicated,  our  de 
ductions  can  be  of  no  possible  use,  except  perhaps  to  save 
some  indolent  mind  the  trouble  of  thinking. 

It  has  been  said  that  men  are  neither  devils  nor  angels. 
To  every  character  there  is  a  bright  side  and  a  dark  side. 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  265 

There  is  a  spot  of  sin  upon  every  face,  but  always  some  re 
deeming  feature. 

We  have  recorded  many  circumstances  tending  to  prove 
that  Mr.  Randolph  was  proud,  dictatorial,  overbearing,  vio 
lent,  unforgiving,  void  of  pity,  full  of  subtlety,  of  gall  and 
wormwood ;  and  as  some  go  about  hunting  wild  beasts  for 
sport,  he  hunted  mankind.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  we  have 
introduced  some  testimony  in  addition  to  what  has  been 
published  by'  others,  to  show  that  he  was  capable  at  times  of 
conferring  acts  of  the  greatest  generosity,  and  in  the  most 
acceptable  manner;  that  his  mind  was  not  debauched,  his 
sentiments  being  pure,  whatever  his  frail  body  might  do ; 
that  he  was  bold  and  fearless ;  that  when  he  was  not  excited 
by  passion,  or  irritated  by  disease,  he  was  gentle  and  kind. 
The  tone  of  his  general  character  was  so  high,  so  singularly 
free  from  abjectness,  servility,  or  meanness  of  any  description, 
that  nothwithstanding  all  his  faults,  we  cannot  say  he  was  a 
bad  man,  in  the  sense  in  which  that  term  is  ordinarily  used. 
Possessed  of  no  qualities  to  inspire  our  love  and  affection, 
still  he  was  free  from  all  which  excites  the  feeling  of  con 
tempt.  And  he  was  endowed  with  all  the  noblest  qualities 
of  the  head.  He  possessed  a  most  extraordinary  memory, 
a  memory  which  seemed  never  to  forget  anything ;  and  yet 
it  was  not  an  unnatural  development.  But  such  a  memory, 
if  other  qualities  had  not  been  developed  in  an  equal  degree, 
would,  in  all  probability,  have  induced  him  to  draw  altogether 
upon  the  resources  of  others ;  his  opinions  upon  matters  of 
state,  would  have  been  mere  collations  of  authorities;  when 
his  views  upon  a  subject  were  solicited,  he  would  have  cited 
to  a  book.  Such  was  not  the  case  however.  His  speeches 
are  filled  with  apt  quotations ;  but  they  are  not  the  efforts  of 
a  retentive  memory  alone,  but  of  a  great  mind  drawing  its 
own  conclusions,  using  the  learning  of  others  only  to  illus- 


266  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

trate  and  adorn.  It  has  been  said  he  had  the  imagination  of 
Byron,  the  wit  of  Sheridan,  and  that  his  powers  of  sarcasm 
were  unsurpassed.  Indeed  we  should  say  that  the  latter 
quality  was  the  distinctive  feature  of  his  mind.  If  an  im 
portant  measure  were  before  Congress,  and  we  in  search  of 
the  ablest  debater  we  could  find,  we  should  select  perhaps  a 
Webster.  But  when  we  were  driven  off  from  all  our  posi 
tions  of  defence,  and  had  to  rely  upon  thrusting  as  well  as 
parrying,  we  should  undoubtedly  prefer  a  Randolph.  Web 
ster  might  beat  him  in  the  argument,  but  without  exaggera 
tion,  when  he  fell  back  upon*  his  stronghold  of  sarcasm  and 
ridicule,  when  the  war  must  be  carried  into  Africa,  there 
was  no  man  in  Europe  or  America  that  could  equal  him. 

But  where  so  many  features  are  prominent,  it  is  hard  to 
tell  which  is  most  so.  WTe  have  already  fully  discussed  his 
wonderful  powers  of  elocution. 

When  we  consider  Mr.  Randolph's  genius  we  are  pos 
sessed -of  the  same  feeling  with  Mr.  Macaulay,  who  said: 
He  "could  almost  forgive  all  the  faults  of  Bacon's  life  for 
one  singularly  graceful  and  dignified  passage."  But  our  en 
thusiasm  for  the  abilities  of  a  great  man  should  not  induce 
us  to  neglect  the  lessons  of  warning  which  his  life  is  calcu 
lated  to  teach. 

It  does  not  require  any  considerable  stretch  of  the  imagi 
nation  to  conceive  the  character  of  the  reflections  indulged 
by  one  of  the  sons  of  toil  as  he  stands  over  the  solitary 
grave  of  his  illustrious  countryman.  He  may  well  spare 
himself  the  pangs  of  envy.  He  had  rather  dwell  in  ob 
scurity  all  the  days  of  his  life,  "  his  mind  upon  the  furrow, 
and  diligent  to  give  the  kine  fodder;"  he  had  rather  "sit  by 
the  anvil  and  consider  the  iron  work,  fighting  with  the  heat 
of  the  furnace,  the  fire  wasting  his  flesh,"  than  to  be  John 
Randolph.  True,  he  can  never  enjoy  the  applause  of  the 


OF   JOHN    RANDOLPH.  267 

multitude,  nor  "sit  high  in  the  congregation,"  "nor  in  the 
judge's  seat;"  he  has  to  "trust  solely  to  his  hands,"  and  is 
"wise  only  in  his  work;"  but  he  is  more  than  compensated 
by  not  having  mental  troubles,  "corroding  joy  and  youth;" 
not  having  ascended  to  "mountain  tops,"  he  is  not  "forced 
to  look  down  on  the  hate  of  those  below."  He  is  not  de 
voured  by  discontent,  nor  rendered  miserable  by  remorse. 
He  would  not  exchange  one  hour's  joy  of  his  cottage  home, 
blessed  with  the  comforts  which  his  wife  spreads  before  him, 
his  little  ones  playing  around  him,  for  all  the  pleasures  which 
Mr.  Randolph  experienced  during  a  long  life  of  "golden 
sorrow." 

Nor  is  it  difficult  to  imagine  the  nature  of  the  thoughts 
which  pass  through  the  mind  of  the  man  of  genius  as  he 
stands  by  the  solitary  pine  over  the  grave  of  John  Randolph. 
He  is  conscious  of  possessing  himself  more  than  ordinary 
abilities,  but  he  is  reminded  that  in  order  to  be  ensured  of 
happiness  here  and  a  glorious  immortality,  his  abilities  must 
be  properly  directed.  Possibly  he  may  be  endowed  with  ar 
dent  feelings ;  these  must  be  controlled,  else  his  life  must  be 
one  of  "splendid  misery."  Like  the  illustrious  personage, 
whose  life  he  contemplates,  he  may  be  formed  with  intense 
sensibility;  this,  he  feels,  may  prove  a  blessing  or  a  curse, 
according  to  his  training.  The  life  of  John  Randolph,  he  is 
convinced,  is  full  of  useful  warning.  He  sees  the  penalty  of 
failing  to  school  the  affections,  of  cherishing  the  love  of  the 
misery  of  others,  of  giving  way  to  a  violent  temper,  of  mid 
night  draughts.  He  is  confident  that  to  be  eminently  miser-/-) 
able  must  be  the  lot  of  all  such  eminent  men.  But  he  does 
not  admit  that  it  was  genius  which  rendered  its  possessor 
miserable.  He  is  loth  to  believe  that  the  most  coveted  gift 
of  heaven  is  bestowed  for  any  such  purpose. 

We  will  not  say  that  Mr.  Randolph  was  not  a  Christian; 


'268  HOME    REMINISCENCES 

he  was  evidently  not  what  he  should  have  been ;  but  who 
can  tell  what  he  would  have  been  but  for  the  faith  which  was 
given  him. 

"  What's  done  we  partly  may  compute, 
But  never  what's  resisted." 

We  are  disposed  to  make  a  great  many  allowances  for  this 
truly  unfortunate  man.  He  was  born  with  a  most  ungovern 
able  temper;  he  suffered  all  his  days  from  bodily  disease, 
and  he  had  a  secret  sorrow,  as  deep  as  that  which  "the  fa 
bled  Hebrew  wanderer  bore." 

For  his  religious  impressions  he  acknowledges  himself  in 
debted  to  his  mother.  But  for  her  training,  like  Byron,  he 
might  have  defied  the  powers  of  heaven  as  well  as  earth. 

The  example  of  Mr.  Randolph  affords  a  lesson  of  encour 
agement  to  every  mother,  upon  whom  rests  the  responsi 
bility  of  training  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go.  No 
matter  how  wicked  that  child  may  be,  no  matter  how  violent 
his  passions,  she  need  not  despair.  Let  her  reflect  that  it 
was  the  influence  of  a  gentle  mother,  which  shed  a  ray  of 
light  through  the  dark  recess  of  Mr.  Randolph's  remorseful 
heart,  and  enabled  him,  upon  his  dying  bed,  to  look  to  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  hope  he  had  obtained  pardon. 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX. 

SPEECH  ON  RETRENCHMENT  AND  REFORM. 

AS  we  proposed  to  publish  a  volume  of  Home  Reminis 
cences,  it  could  not  be  expected  that  we  should  swell 
our  pages  with  the  numerous  speeches  made  by  Mr. 
Randolph  while  he  was  in  Congress.  We  have  selected 
one  as  a  specimen  of  his  style  of  composition,  and  as  a 
literary  curiosity — the  one  on  Retrenchment  and  Reform, 
delivered  in  February,  1828,  in  answer  to  Mr.  Everett  of 
Massachusetts.  It  was  carefully  revised  by  its  author,  dedi 
cated  to  his  constituents,  and  published  in  pamphlet  form. 
The  reader  will  remember  that  the  Presidential  election 
of  1824  resulted  in  the  return  of  Crawford,  Jackson  and 
Adams  to  the  House;  no  choice  having  been  made  by  the 
people.  Mr.  Adams  was  elected  through  the  influence  of 
Mr.  Clay.  Mr.  Randolph  was  the  leader  of  the  opposition 
party,  and  his  speech  on  Retrenchment  and  Reform  was  a 
blow  at  the  administration. 

Mr.  RANDOLPH  rose  and  said : 

I  cannot  make  the  promise  which  the  gentleman  who  has  just  taken 
his  seat  (Mr.  Everett)  made  at  the  outset  of  his  address,  but  I  will  make 
a  promise  of  a  different  nature,  and  one  which  I  trust  it  will  be  in  my 
power  to  perform — I  shall  not  say  with  more  good  faith  than  the  gentle 
man  from  Massachusetts,  but  more  to  the  letter — ay,  sir,  and  more  to  the 
spirit  too.  I  shall  not,  as  the  gentleman  said  he  would  do,  act  in  mere 
self-defence.  I  shall  carry  the  war  into  Africa.  Delenda  est  Carthago! 
I  shall  not  be  content  with  merely  parrying ;  no,  sir,  if  I  can,  so  help  me 
God,  I  will  thrust  also,  because  my  right  arm  is  nerved  by  the  cause  of 


272  APPENDIX. 

the  people  and  of  my  country.  I  listened  to  the  gentleman  with  plea 
sure — I  mean  to  the  general  course  of  his  remarks,  with  a  single  excep 
tion,  and  to  that  part  of  his  speech  I  listened  with  the  utmost  loathing  and 
disgust.  But  disgust  is  too  feeble  a  term.  I  heard  him  with  horror  in 
troduce  the  case  of  the  Queen  of  France* — and  in  answer  to  what?  To 
a  handbill,  a  placard,  an  electioneering  firebrand.  And  in  the  presence 
of  whom  ?  Of  those  who  never  ought  to  be  present  in  a  theatre  where 
men  contend  for  victory  and  empire.  Sir,  they  have  no  more  business 
there  than  they  have  in  a  field  of  battle  of  another  sort.  Women,  in 
deed,  are  wanted  in  the  camp;  but  women  of  a  very  different  description. 
What  maiden,  nay,  what  matron,  could  hear  the  gentleman  without  cover 
ing  her  face  with  her  hands,  and  rushing  out  of  the  House  ?  But  for  some 
of  the  remarks  of  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts,  in  allusion  to  news 
paper  publications,  I  should  have  begun  in  at  least  as  low  a  key  and  as 
temperate  a  mood  as  he  did.  To  that  key  I  will  now  pitch  my  voice. 

I  have  been  absent  from  the  House  for  several  days.  I  requested  my 
colleague  (Mr.  Alexander)  to  state  the  cause  of  that  absence,  which  he 
did.  Yet  even  this  could  not  be  reported  correctly.  As  this  may  be  the 
last  act  of  public  duty  which  I  shall  be  able  to  perform,  at  least  during 
the  present  session,  and  as  I  have  given  up  myself  a  sacrifice  to  its  per 
formance,  I  respectfully  ask  the  House  to  give  their  attention  to  what  I 
have  now  to  say.  I  understand  that  during  my  absence  I  have  been  re 
plied  to  by  various  gentlemen  (some  of  whom  I  have  not  the  honor  to 
know  by  person)  on  different  sides  of  the  House  in  a  manner  which  I  do 
not  doubt  was  perfectly  satisfactory,  at  least  to  the  speakers  themselves.  I 
certainly  do  not  wish  to  disturb  their  self-complacency — de  minimis  non 
curat — whether  of  persons  or  of  things.  The  gentleman  from  Ohio  (Mr. 
Vance),  with  that  blunt  plainness  and  candor  which  I  am  told  belong  to 
him,  and  which  I  admire  in  proportion  as  they  are  rare  qualities  in  these 
time-serving  days — I  like  him  the  better  for  his  surly  honesty — I  hope  he 
will  take  no  offence  at  the  term,  for  I  can  assure  him  that  none  is  in 
tended — charged  me  in  my  absence  (so  my  friends  have  informed  me) 
with  what  I  believe  he  would  not  hesitate  to  have  charged  to  my  face,  and 
to  which  I  have  no  objection,  but  I  must  except  to  the  authority  on  which 
he  relied,  for  I  protest  against  any  gentleman's  producing — as  proof  of 
what  I  have  at  any  time  said — a  newspaper,  or  anything  purporting  to  be 

*  "  The  Devil  himself  will  not  eat  a  woman." — SHAKSPEARE. 


APPENDIX.  273 

a  register  of  debates,  unless  I  endorse  it,  and  become  answerable  for  it, 
and  more  especially  remarks  drawn  from  the  debates  of  another  body, 
which,  in  regard  to  me,  are  particularly  unfaithful.  I  shall  show  to  the 
House  not  such  matter  as  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  stirred,  to  the 
offence  of  every  moral  sense,  of  every  moral  being.  I  do  not  pretend  to 
impose  my  standard  of  delicacy  and  propriety  up*on  the  gentleman,  who 
will  no  doubt  measure  by  his  own — de  gustibus  non  est  disputandum — 
and  it  is  not  for  me  to  interfere  with  the  gentleman's  tastes,  whether  in 
literature,  morals  or  religion.  I  shall  refer  to  a  matter  of  recent  notoriety, 
that  will  test  the  correctness  of  these  reports.  In  the  debate  on  the  mo 
tion  of  the  gentleman  from  South  Carolina  (Mr.  Hamilton),  respecting  a 
picture  of  the  battle  of  New  Orleans,  I  did  state,  as  distinctly  as  I  could 
articulate,  that  I  had  seen  a  monument  erected  to  the  memory  of  Andr£, 
the  British  spy,  in  Westminster  Abbey;  that  it  was  mutilated,  the  head  of 
General  Washington,  and  arm  (I  think)  of  Andre  having  been  broken  off, 
the  General's,  most  probably,  by  some  Tory  boy,  from  the  neighboring 
school  of  Westminster,  and  that  of  Andrd  probably  by  some  Whig  boy  in 
retaliation.  The  name  of  Hamilton  did  not  escape  my  lips.  I  thought, 
indeed,  of  Hamilton,  but  it  was  of  a  living  Hamilton — the  gentleman 
from  South  Carolina.  But  then  parliamentary  usage  does  not  permit  us 
to  speak  of  one  another  by  name.  Now,  sir,  I  can  show  you,  on  the 
same  authority,  which  was  relied  on  by  the  gentleman  from  Ohio — al 
though  I  acknowledge  that  the  reports  of  that  paper,  so  far  at  least  as  I  am 
concerned,  have  generally  been  more  accurate  this  year  than  I  have  for  a 
long  time  known  them  to  be  before — that  I  am  represented  as  saying  that 
the  monuments  in  Westminster  Abbey  were  mutilated  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  tombs  of  Hamilton  and  Washington  had  been  mutilated  here.  The 
word  tomb  never  escaped  my  lips  on  that  occasion.  This  would  have 
been  a  palpable  falsehood.  Where  is  the  tomb  of  Washington?  There 
is  no  such  thing  in  this  country,  nor  have  I  ever  heard  that  a  tomb  has 
been  erected  to  the  memory  of  Hamilton;  but  I  suppose  that  the  next 
thing  we  shall  hear  will  be,  that  the  Quarterly,  or  some  other  impartial 
Review,  conies  out  and  observes  with  a  sneer,  that  as  Roger  Sherman  said 
the  vote  was  the  monument,  so  a  gentleman  from  Virginia  had  by  a  speech 
in  Congress  built  up  a  tomb  for  Washington — a  "constructive"  tomb — 
that  existed  nowhere  but  in  his  eccentric  imagination.  Sir,  the  tombs  of 
Washington  and  of  Hamilton  might  stand  anywhere  in  this  country  unen 
closed;  they  might,  indeed,  be  liable  to  injury  from  the  beasts  of  the  field, 
18 


274  APPENDIX. 

or  from  some  invidious  foreigner,  but  the  hand  of  no  American  would 
ever  mutilate  them.  In  the  course  of  another  debate,  it  seems  that  I  ren 
dered  to  a  gentleman  from  New  York  (Mr.  Storrs)  the  homage  which  his 
abilities  deserved;  and  God  forbid  that  the  time  should  ever  arrive  when 
I  refuse  to  do  justice  to  an  adversary,  when  I  shall  disparage  any  merit 
because  it  is  found  in  the  person  of  an  opponent.  When  that  time  shall 
arrive,  may  I  never  receive  mercy  from  that  fountain  of  it,  to  which  alone 
we  all  must  look  if  we  hope  for  forgiveness  hereafter.  I  said  that  I  would 
not,  like  him,  pronounce  a  palinodia,  neither  am  I  now  going  to  pronounce 
a  palinodia  in  respect  to  the  gentleman  from  New  York.  I  shall  not  take 
back  one  jot  of  praise  bestowed  upon  him.  With  whatever  views  he  in 
troduced  it,  the  doctrine  has  always  been  mine — the  strict  subordination 
of  the  military  to  the  civil  authority — Scripture  is  Scripture,  by  whom,  or 
for  whatever  purpose  it  may  be  quoted.  I  know  nothing  of  the  private 
habits  of  that  gentleman  (Mr.  Storrs),  but  I  know  that  he  has  too  much 
good  taste  not  to  agree  with  me  that  time  may  be  much  better  spent  than 
in  reading  the  documents  piled  up  here.  Yet  in  the  report  of  that  de 
bate,  I  was  represented  as  saying  that,  like  the  gentleman  from  New  York, 
I  did  not — what?  pronounce  a  palinodia?  No,  not  at  all;  but  that,  like 
him,  I  did  not  read  the  documents.  Sir,  nobody  reads  the  documents,  for 
this  plain  reason,  that  no  man  can  read  them,  and,  if  he  could,  he  could 
hardly  be  worse  employed.  Sir,  with  a  few  exceptions,  the  documents 
are  printed  that  they  may  be  printed,  not  that  they  may  be  read. 

And  now,  sir,  comes  another  charge  about  the  miserable  oppressed  in 
habitants  of  Ireland.  This  subject  has  been  mentioned  to  me  by  no  gen 
tleman  on  the  other  side,  except  a  member  from  Maryland,  from  the  East 
ern  Shore  of  Maryland  (Mr.  Kerr),  who  is  not  only  by  the  courtesy  of  this 
House,  but  in  fact  a  gentleman.  He,  in  Committee  on  the  Rules  and  Or 
ders  of  the  House,  expressed  to  me  his  astonishment,  that  what  I  said  on 
that  occasion  could  have  been  so  much  misunderstood  and  misrepresented, 
that  he  heard  me  most  distinctly.  I  now  call  on  any  member,  who  under 
stood  me  differently  at  the  time,  to  rise  in  his  place  and  say  so.  [Here  Mr. 
Randolph  paused  for  a  reply.  None  being  given,  and  some  friends  hav 
ing  said  across  the  seats  that  no  member  could  or  would  say  that  he  had 
understood  Mr.  Randolph  as  he  had  been  misrepresented,  Mr.  Randolph 
went  on.]  Without  meaning  to  plead  to;  that  is,  without  meaning  to  ad 
mit,  the  jurisdiction  of  the  press  in  the  extent  which  it  arrogates  to  itself, 
I  am  perfectly  sensible  that  no  man  is  above  public  opinion.  God  forbid 


APPENDIX.  275 

that  any  man  in  this  country  shall  ever  be  able  to  brave  it.  This  is  what 
our  great  adversary  has,  with  characteristic  audacity,  attempted  to  do, 
sorely  to  his  cost  and  that  of  his  less  bold  compeer — now  braving,  now 
truckling  to  it — bullying  and  backing  out — all  in  character.  *  I  regret  that 
any  one  should  have  supposed  me  capable  of  uttering  such  sentiments.  So 
far  from  it,  I  have  been  the  steady,  firm,  constant  and  strenuous  advocate 
to  the  best  of  my  poor  ability  of  the  oppressed  people  of  Ireland.  And 
why  ?  For  the  reason  I  stated  on  a  former  occasion :  They  fought  our 
battles,  sir.  I  have  known  and  esteemed  many  of  them.  Some  of  them 
have  been — they  are  dead — others  are  now  living  among  my  warmest 
friends  and  best  neighbors.  In  the  course  of  a  not  uneventful  life  I  have 
seen  many  things,  but  I  have  yet  to  see  that  rara  avis  in  terris  (I  have 
seen  a  black  swan)  an  Irish  Tory.  I  have  known  Tories  of  every  descrip 
tion;  yes,  sir,  some  even  in  Virginia — even  we  had  a  few  of  them  during 
the  Revolution,  but  too  few  to  give  us  any  trouble  or  alarm — but  I  never 
have  yet  seen  an  Irish  Tory,  or  the  man  who  had  seen  one.  . 

Sir,  I  don't  read  the  newspapers — I  don't  read  gentlemen's  speeches, 
and  then  come  here  to  answer  them.  But  I  am  extremely  pleased,  nay, 
flattered,  in  the  highest  degree,  at  being  told  by  my  friends  that  the  gen 
tleman  from  Ohio  attributed  in  his  speech  so  much  to  my  efforts  in  bring 
ing  the  administration  to  its  present  lank  and  lean  condition.  The  gen 
tleman  could  not  have  pleased  me  better — I  only  fear  that  with  all  his 
bluntness  and  frankness  the  gentleman  was  not  quite  sincere,  and  was  only 
adorning  me  with  fillets  and  garlands,  like  the  priests  of  the  sacrifice  of 
yore,  previous  to  knocking  me,  and  with  me  the  party  whom  he  strives  to 
wound  through  my  sides,  on  the  head.  He  was  pleased  to  place  me  at  the 
head  of  what  has  been  denominated  the  opposition  party  in  this  House; 
but  at  its  head,  or  that  of  any  other  party  in  this  House,  he  will  never  find 
me,  for  reasons  which  I  could  state,  but  which  are  wholly  unnecessary. 
Times  are,  indeed,  changed  with  the  gentleman  and  his  friends  when  they 
hold  this  language  concerning  me.  But  a  little  while  ago,  and  the  friends 
of  the  administration,  nay,  the  members  of  the  administration,  affected  to 
consider  me  as  one  of  their  firmest  props.  They  could  not,  indeed,  vote 
for  me — they  were  men  too  nice  in  their  principles  for  that;  but  consider- 

*  The  pledge,  written  and  published  under  Mr.  Clay's  own  proper  signature,  to  call  out 
any  member  of  Congress  who  should  prove  to  be  the  author  of  the  letter  avowed  by  Mr. 
Kremer,  is  yet  unredeemed. 


276  APPENDIX. 

ing  the  great  benefit  which  they  derived  from  my  opposition,  they  could 
not  (except  for  the  honor  of  the  country)  regret  my  reelection.  Amiable 
and  excellent  men !  But  they  now  sing  to  a  very  different  gamut. 

If  any  gentleman  will  bring  against  me  any  allegation,  from  a  clean  and 
reputable  source,  I  will  do  one  of  two  things — I  will  either  deny  it,  or  ad 
mit  and  defend  it  upon  my  views  and  principles.  Sir,  it  seems  I  commit 
ted  a  great  offence  in  not  voting  for  the  admission  of  the  new  States  into 
the  Union,  and  especially  of  Ohio.  Yet,  if  the  thing  were  to  do  over 
again,  I  should  act  precisely  in  the  same  manner,  and  past  experience 
would  teach  me  I  was  right.  What  were  the  new  States  ?  Vast  deserts 
of  woods,  inhabited  by  the  Aborigines,  to  whom,  if  we  come  to  the  ques 
tion  of  right,  they  did  of  right  belong;  and  it  was  a  question  whether 
sound  policy  would  dictate  that  we  ought,  by  creating  these  States,  to  en 
courage  sparse  settlements,  and  thereby  to  weaken  our  frontier.  I  thought 
this  was  bad  policy.  Not  that  I  am  in  favor  of  a  very  dense  population. 
I  am  against,  the  rabble  of  your  great  cities,  but  I  am  equally  opposed  to 
having  a  land  without  inhabitants.  But,  sir,  I  had  other  reasons — gravi- 
ora  inanent.  Does  the  gentleman  from  Ohio,  with  all  his  laudable  preju 
dice  and  partiality  towards  his  own  State,  think  that  I,  as  a  Virginian, 
feeling  at  least  equal  prejudice  and  partiality  to  my  native  land  with  that 
which  he  feels  for  his  State,  would  lend  my  sanction  to  an  act  on  the  part 
of  Virginia,  which  beggars  every  instance  of  fatuity  and  folly  extant  in 
the  history  of  nations  ?  Why,  sir,  the  Knight  of  La  Mancha  himself,  or 
poor  old  Lear  in  the  play,  never  was  guilty  of  a  grosser  act  of  fatuity  than 
was  the  State  of  Virginia  when  she  committed  that  suicidal  deed — the 
surrendering  of  her  immense  territory  beyond  the  river  Ohio,  upon  the 
express  condition  of  excluding  her  own  citizens  from  its  benefit,  when  the 
country  (yielded  for  the  common  good  of  the  confederacy)  should  come  to 
be  settled.  Yes,  sir,  it  was  an  act  of  suicide — of  political  suicide — the 
effects  of  which  she  has  felt,  and  will  continue  to  feel,  so  long  as  she  has 
any  political  existence  at  all.  This  was  one  of  the  most  amiable  and 
philanthropic  acts  of  legislation,  which,  however  good  in  point  of  inten 
tion,  lead  to  the  most  disastrous  and  ruinous  consequences.  Can  the  gen 
tleman  from  Ohio  conceive  that  I,  a  Virginian,  could  further  this  cut-throat 
policy  ?  I  thought  the  Ohio  a  well  defined  natural  boundary,  and  that  we 
ought  not  to  weaken  by  extending  our  frontier.  The  late  war  verified  my 
foresight.  Whom  have  I  injured?  The  native  savages  and  the  trees,  or 
the  States  that  have  been  drained  of  their  population  to  fill  out  Ohio  ?  I 


APPENDIX.  277 

offered  no  wrong  to  the  people  of  Ohio,  for  there  were  then  none  to  in 
jure.  They  have  gone  there,  or  have  been  born  since.  This  was  the 
"head  and  front  of  my  offending;"  and  if  the  gentleman  has  his  appa 
ratus  ready,  I  am  prepared  to  undergo  any  form  of  execution  which  his 
humanity  will  allow  him  to  inflict,  or  which  even  his  justice  may  award. 

Smarting  under  the  injurious  election  of  a  President  against  the  will  of 
the  people,  by  the  votes  of  Louisiana  and  Missouri  balancing  those  of 
Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  in  this  House,  I  spoke  of  ourselves  as  the  only 
people  so  overwise  as  to  acquire  provinces,  not  that  we  might  govern  them, 
but  that  they  might  give  law  to  us. 

And,  sir,  I  have  always  held,  and  shall  forever  hold  it  to  be  the  height 
of  injustice  (and  of  folly,  too,  on  the  part  of  the  old  States),  that  thirty  or 
forty  thousand  persons,  who  so  long  as  they  remained  in  Pennsylvania  or 
Virginia,  were  represented  in  the  Senate,  only  as  the  rest  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vanians  and  Virginians  should,  by  emigrating  to  one  of  the  geographical 
diagrams  beyond  the  Ohio  or  the  Mississippi,  acquire,  ipso  facto,  an  equi 
pollent  vote  in  the  other  House  of  Congress  with  the  millions  that  they 
left  behind  at  home.  In  case  of  the  old  States,  necessity  gave  this  privi 
lege  to  Rhode  Island,  &c.;  they  were  coordinate  States— free,  sovereign 
and  independent — and  as  such,  ex  vi  termini,  equal  to  the  largest;  but 
here  it  was  a  gratuitous  boon,  at  the  expense  of  the  original  members  of 
the  confederacy — not  called  for  by  justice  or  equity. 

Sir,  do  not  understand  me  as  wishing  to  establish  injurious  or  degra 
ding  distinctions  between  the  old  and  the  new  States,  to  the  disadvantage 
of  these  last.  Some  such  already  exist,  which  I  would  willingly  do  away. 
No,  sir,  my  objection  was  to  the  admission  of  such  States  (whether  south 
or  north  of  the  Ohio,  east  or  west  of  the  Mississippi)  into  the  Union,  and, 
by  consequence,  to  a  full  participation  of  power  in  the  Senate  with  the 
oldest  and  largest  members  of  the  confederacy,  before  they  had  acquired 
a  sufficient  population  that  might  entitle  them  to  it,  and  before  that  popu 
lation  had  settled  down  into  that  degree  of  consistency  and  assimilation 
which  is  necessary  to  the  formation  of  a  body  politic.  The  rapidity  with 
which  these  new  States  fill  up,  would  have  retarded  their  full  participation 
in  the  power  of  their  co-states  but  a  very  short  time.  And  in  that  short 
interval  the  safety  of  the  other  States  (witness  the  vote  of  Missouri  for 
President)  required  such  a  precaution  on  their  part.  If  I  had  been  an 
emigrant  myself  to  one  of  these  new  States— and  I  have  near  and  dear 
connexions  in  some  of  them — I  could  not  have  murmured  against  the  de- 


278  APPENDIX. 

nial  to  forty  or  fifty  thousand  new  settlers  (although  I  had  been  one  of 
them)  of  a  voice  in  the  Senate,  potential  as  New  York's,  with  a  million 
and  a  half  of  people. 

The  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  cannot  expect  that  I  shall  follow  him 
through  his  elaborate  detail  of  the  diplomatic  expenses  of  this  govern 
ment  with  which  he  came  prepared.  The  House,  however,  will  permit 
me  to  observe  that  there  was  a  hiatus — valde  deflendus,  I  do  not  doubt,  but 
certainly  not  deeply  lamented  by  me — a  hiatus  which  embraces  the  whole 
period  of  the  administration  of  Mr.  Jefferson.  I  am  not  going  into  the 
question  of  these  expenses;  I  will  stir  no  such  matter — demands  which 
have  dogged  the  doors  of  the  treasury  so  long,  and  so  perseveringly,  as 
that  they  have  been  at  length  allowed,  some  from  motives  of  policy,  others 
to  get  rid  of  importunate  and  sturdy  beggars,  although  they  were  disal 
lowed  under  Mr.  Jefferson's  administration.  But,  sir,  if  every  claim  that 
gets  through  this  House,  or  is  allowed  by  this  government,  after  years  of 
importunity  (some  of  them  of  thirty  years  standing),  is  for  that  reason  con 
sidered  by  the  gentleman  as  a  just  claim,  and  fit  to  be  drawn  into  prece 
dent,  my  notions  of  justice  and  of  sound  precedent  differ  greatly  from  his. 
I,  too,  am  as  much  opposed  as  he  can  be  to  what  is  truly  called  the  prodi 
gality  of  parsimony.  The  gentleman  thinks  that  the  salaries  of  our  foreign 
ministers  are  too  low,  and  therefore  they  must  be  eked  out  by  these  allow 
ances  from  the  contingent  fund — out  of  what  is  called  the  secret  service 
money.  The  gentleman  is  right  as  to  the  existence  of  such  a  fund.  It 
was  appointed,  and  perhaps  properly,  for  Washington  was  to  be  the  first 
charged  with  its  disbursement.  But  our  early  Presidents  always  made  it  a 
point  of  honor  to  return  this  fund  untouched.  They  said  to  the  nation, 
you  trusted  me  with  your  purse — I  have  had  no  occasion  to  use  it — here 
it  is — count  the  money — there  is  as  much  by  tale  and  as  much  by  weight 
as  I  received  from  you.  But  was  it  ever  dreamed  that  such  a  fund  was  to 
be  put  into  the  hands  of  a  President  of  the  United  States,  to  furnish  him 
with  the  means  of  rewarding  his  favorites?  No,  sir;  it  was  to  pay  those 
waiters  and  chambermaids,  and  eaves-droppers,  and  parasites,  and  panders, 
that  the  gentleman  told  us  of  on  the  other  side  of  the  water — and  there  it 
might  be  all  very  right  and  proper — but  not  here,  because  we  flatter  our 
selves  that  the  state  of  morals  in  this  country  is  such  as  to  save  us  from  any 
such  necessity.  No  gentleman  would  understand  him  as  speaking  of  the 
sums  which  had  been  placed  at  the  disposal  of  different  Presidents,  to  a 
vast  amount,  for  the  purpose  of  negotiating  with  the  Barbary  Powers,  &c., 


APPENDIX.  279 

but  of  that  amount  set  apart  and  generally  known  as  secret  service  money. 
Mr.  Jefferson  used  a  small  portion  of  this  fund  one  year,  the  last  of  his 
administration,  to  pay  some  expense  in  relation  to  Burr's  conspiracy,  which 
was  not  allowed  at  the  treasury. 

With  regard  to  the  old  billiard  table,  which  is  said  to  have  cost  some 
fifty  dollars,  it  is  a  subject  that  I  should  never  have  mentioned.  I  con 
sider  that  game  as  a  healthy,  manly,  rational  mode  of  exercise,  when  the 
weather  is  such  as  to  confine  us  within  doors.  I  shall  certainly  never  join 
in  any  cant  or  clamor  against  it.  I  look  upon  it  as  a  suitable  piece  of  fur 
niture  in  the  house  of  any  gentleman  who  can  afford  it,  where  it  is  allowed 
by  law,  as  it  is  here  and  throughout  the  State  of  Maryland,  as  well  as  many 
other  States.  It  is  a  fit  subject  for  taxation,  but  I  should  be  sorry  if  we 
were  to  proscribe  that  manly  and  innocent  amusement.  *  If  I  have  any 
objection  to  that  item,  it  is  that  such  a  pitiful  article  should  have  been 
bought.  I  would  have  given  him  one  that  cost  five  hundred  dollars,  and 
I  would  have  voted  the  appropriation  with  cheerfulness.  My  objection  to 
such  a  charge  is,  that  it  is  a  shabby  affair,  and  looks  too  much  like  a  sneak 
ing  attempt  to  propitiate,  by  the  cheapness  of  the  thing,  popular  displea 
sure.  The  attempt  to  keep  the  thing  out  of  sight  only  makes  the  matter 
still  worse.  I  do  not  charge  the  gentleman  from  North  Carolina  with  any 
such  intention,  but  this  seems  to  me  to  be  too  small  a  matter.  I  would 
strike  at  higher  game. 

The  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  says  that  Franklin  received  a  higher 
compensation  than  Mr.  Adams  did,  and  other  ministers  of  these  times. 
He  did,  sir,  and  what  was  the  answer  which  that  shrewd  and  sensible  man 
gave  (for  poor  Richard  had  always  an  eye  to  the  main  chance)  when  his 
accounts  were  scrutinized  into,  and  his  receipts  were  deemed  exorbitant! 
It  was  this,  sir :  "  Thou  shalt  not  muzzle  the  ox  that  treadeth  out  the  corn." 
The  very  answer  that  I  myself  gave  in  Morrison's  hotel,  in  Dublin,  to  a 
squireen  and  an  agent.  For  a  description  of  these  varieties  of  the  plagues 
of  Ireland  see  Miss  Edgeworth — delightful,  ingenious,  charming,  sensi 
ble,  witty,  inimitable,  though  not  unimitated  Miss  Edgeworth.  When 
describing  the  misery  of  the  South  and  West  of  Ireland,  that  I  had  lately 
traveled  over,  I  was  asked,  "  And  what  would  you  do,  pray,  sir,  for  the 
relief  of  Ireland?"  with  an  air  that  none  but  Miss  Edgeworth  can  de 
scribe,  and  that  no  one  that  has  not  been  in  Ireland  can  conceive.  My 

*See  Appendix— Note  A. 


280  APPENDIX. 

reply  was,  "  I  would  unmuzzle  the  ox  that  treadeth  out  the  corn ;"  and  I 
had  like  to  have  got  myself  into  a  sad  scrape  by  it,  as  any  one  who  has 
been  in  Ireland  will  readily  understand.  Yes,  sir,  I  was  disposed  to  give 
to  the  houseless,  naked,  shivering,  half-starved  Irish  laborer  something 
like  a  fair  portion  of  the  product  of  his  toil,  of  the  produce  of  the  land  on 
which  he  breathes,  but  does  not  live;  to  put  victuals  into  his  stomach, 
clothes  upon  his  back,  and  something  like  a  house  over  his  head,  instead 
of  the  wretched  pig-sty  that  is  now  his  only  habitation — shelter,  it  is  none; 
and  this  was  just  the  last  remedy  that  an  Irish  agent,  or  middle  man,  or 
tythe-proctor,  or  absentee,  would  prescribe  or  submit  to. 

But  to  return.  "These  salaries  are  too  small."  I  cannot  agree  with 
the  gentleman.  There  is  one  touchstone  of  such  a  question — it  is  the 
avidity  with  which  those  situations  are  sought — I  will  not  say  by  members 
of  this  House — we  are  hardly  deemed  of  sufficient  rank  to  fill  them.  A 
receivership  or  inspectorship  of  the  LAND  OFFICE  must  do  for  us ;  ay,  even 
for  such  of  us  as,  by  our  single  vote,  have  made  a  President.  Sir,  the 
generous  steed  by  whose  voice  the  son  of  Hystaspes  was  elevated  to  the 
throne  of  Persia,  was  better  recompensed,  as  he  deserved  to  be,  than  the 
venal  asses  whose  braying  has  given  a  ruler  to  seven  millions  of  freemen, 
and  to  a  domain  far  surpassing  in  power  as  well  as  extent  that  of  the 
GREAT  KING — the  GRAND  MONARQUE  of  antiquity!  So  long  as  these 
foreign  missions  are  sought  with  avidity — so  long  as  members  of  Congress, 
and  not  of  this  House  only,  or  chiefly,  will  bow,  and  cringe,  and  duck, 
and  fawn,  and  get  out  of  the  way  at  a  pinching  vote,  or  lend  a  helping 
hand  at  a  pinching  vote,  to  obtain  these  places,  I  never  will  consent  to 
enlarge  the  salary  attached  to  them.  Small  as  the  gentleman  tells  us  those 
salaries  are,  I  will  take  it  on  me  to  say,  that  they  are  three  times  as  great 
as  they  are  now  managed,  as  the  net  proceeds  of  his  estate,  made  by  any 
planter  on  the  Roanoke.  But  then  we  are  told  that  they  live  at  St.  Peters- 
burgh  and  London,  and  that  living  there  is  very  expensive.  Well,  sir, 
who  sent  them  there  ?  Who  pressed  them  to  go  there  ?  Were  they  im 
pressed  there  like  D'  Auterive's  slave?  Were  they  taken,  like  a  free-born 
Englishman,  by  a  press-gang,  on  Tower  hill,  knocked  down,  handcuffed, 
chucked  on  board  of  a  tender,  and  told  that  they  must  take  the  pay  and 
rations  which  his  Majesty  was  pleased  to  allow?  No  such  thing,  sir.  I 
will  now  quit  this  subject,  and  say  only  this,  that  our  minister  (Mr.  Adams) 
was  paid  for  a  constructive  journey — that,  I  think,  is  the  phrase,  which 
means  neither  more  nor  less  than  a  journey,  which  was  never  performed. 


APPENDIX.  281 

[Here  Mr.  Everett  made  a  gesture  of  dissent.] 

The  gentleman  shakes  his  head.  Sir,  we  shall  see  more  of  this  here 
after,  but  I  will  reason  only  hypothetically.  If  the  gentleman  in  question, 
while  he  remained  at  St.  Petersburgh,  could  make  the  journey  imputed  to 
him,  it  beats  the  famous  journey  from  Mexico  to  Tacubaya,  as  far  as  some 
distance,  however  small,  exceeds  no  distance  whatsoever.  If  a  gentleman 
from  Washington  goes  to  Georgetown  or  to  Alexandria;  yes,  sir,  to  Bla- 
densburg,  I  will  acknowledge  that  he  performs,  at  least  in  some  sense,  a 
sort  of  journey.  But  not  if  he  remains  in  this  city,  and  never  stirs  out  of 
it.  However,  I  will  not  now  press  this  matter  farther — others  will  do 
more  justice  to  it — de  minimis  non  cut  at. 

Paulo  majora  canamus :  There  was  one  remark  which  I  took  down 
while  the  gentleman  was  speaking,  and  which  I  cannot  pass  over.  Who- 
that  gentleman  was,  described  by  the  member  from  Massachusetts,  who 
proposed  to  him  that  if  he  would  move  to  raise  these  salaries  that  gentle 
man  would  join  with  him  and  support  him,  I  cannot  conjecture  or  divine. 
Be  he  who  he  may,  I  will  venture  to  say  thus  much :  He  is  some  gentle 
man  who  expects  to  be  sent  upon  a  mission  himself,  and,  with  great  fore 
cast  and  prudence,  he  was  calculating  to  throw  upon  the  present  adminis 
tration  beforehand  all  the  odium  of  the  increase  of  the  salary  which  he 
hoped  to  finger.  I  am  disposed  to  be  more  just  to  the  gentleman  and  to 
the  administration,  because  I  believe  that  he  will  get  full  as  much  as  he 
may  deserve;  and  they  have  full  as  much  weight  as  they  can  carry,  with 
out  adding  to  it  another  feather. 

I  am  afraid  that  I  may  be  charged  with  some  want  of  continuity,  but 
what  I  have  to  say  is  at  least  as  relevant;  ay,  and  as  pertinent  too  to  the 
subject  before  the  House  as  the  handbill  which  the  gentleman  read,  till 
his  delicacy  would  permit  him  to  read  no  farther,  though  I  must  confess  I 
thought  that  he  had  already  gone  so  far  that  there  was  no  ultima  Thiile 
beyond.  Sir,  the  gentleman  might  have  spared  himself  this  last  exertion 
of  his  delicacy,  and  even  have  read  to  the  end.  There  could  be  nothing 
more  gross  behind  than  what  we  had  already  heard,  and  were  to  hear,  in 
the  case  of  the  ill-fated  Queen  of  France.  The  gentleman,  with  much 
gravity,  with  some  dexterity,  and  with  great  plausibility,  but  against  certain 
principles  which  I  have  held  in  this  House,  ab  ovo,  and  which  I  shall  con 
tinue  to  hold,  usque  ad  mala,  till  I  leave  the  feast,  spoke  of  the  headlong- 
commencement  of  the  opposition  before  the  administration  could  give  rea 
sonable  cause  of  discontent.  I  have  now  no  palinodia  to  sing  or  to  chant 


:282  APPENDIX. 

upon  that  subject.  I  drew  from  that  fountain,  which  never  failed  an  ob 
serving  and  sagacious  man,  and  which  even  the  simple  and  inexperienced 
(and  I  among  the  rest)  may  drink  at — it  is  nature  and  human  life.  I  saw 
distinctly,  from  the  beginning,  that  if  we  permitted  this  administration — 
if  we  listened  to  those  who  cried  to  UP,  "  Wait,  wait,  there  is  a  lion  in  the 
path"  (and,  sir,  there  always  is  a  lion  in  the  path  to  the  sluggard  and  the 
dastard),  and  which  cry  was  seconded  no  doubt  by  many  who  wished  to 
know  how  the  land  lay  before  they  ran  for  a  port — on  which  side  victory 
would  incline  before  they  sounded  their  horn  of  triumph.  If  we  had  thus 
waited,  the  situation  of  the  country  would  have  been  very  different  from 
what  it  is  now.  Sir,  there  was  a  great  race  to  be  run — if  you  will  permit 
me  to  draw  an  illustration  from  a  sport  to  which  I  have  been  much  ad 
dicted  —one  in  which  all  the  gentlemen  in  Virginia,  when  we  had  gentle 
men  in  Virginia,  delighted,  and  of  which  I  am  yet  very  fond — I  mean 
from  the  turf — and  it  must  be  lost  or  won,  as  the  greatest  race  in  this  coun 
try  was  won — I  mean  the  race  on  Long  Island,  which  I  saw,  and  that  was 
by  running  every  inch  of  the  ground — by  going  off  at  score — by  following 
the  policy  of  Purdy.  Purdy,  sir,  was  a  man  of  sound  sense  and  practical 
knowledge — a  man  of  common  sense  I  mean,  and  worth  a  thousand  of 
your  old  and  practised  statesmen  and  "  premature"  gentlemen  who  never 
arrive  at  maturity — and  who,  meaning  to  side  with  the  next  administration 
in  case  of  our  success,  were,  nevertheless,  resolved  to  get  all  they  could 
in  the  meantime  out  of  this.  Sir,  to  one  of  these  trimming  gentry,  it  is 
worse  than  death  to  force  him  to  take  sides  before  a  clear  indication  of 
victory;  and  hence  the  cry  of  its  being  "premature,"  to  stir  the  question 
of  the  next  Presidential  election.  If  we  had  set  off  one  session  later,  we 
should  not  have  had  ground  enough  left  to  run  upon,  to  overtake,  and  pass, 
and  beat  them,  before  they  would  have  passed  the  winning  post  and 
pocketed  the  stakes.  Such  would  have  been  the  effect  if  we  had  delayed 
our  pi^sh,  and  I  know  no  one  who  would  have  enjoyed  the  result  and 
chuckled  at  our  folly  with  more  hearty  glee  than  one  of  these  same  old  and 
practised  statesmen.  [Here  something  was  said  which  our  reporter  did 
not  hear,  and  to  which  Mr.  Everett  was  understood  to  reply,  that  he  had 
Jiot  stated  it  as  his  sentiment,  but  as  a  fact.]  I  beg  the  gentleman's  par 
don  :  I  never  was  misrepresented  by  him,  and  I  never  will  misrepresent 
him  unless  I  misunderstand  him.  But  I  wonder  it  never  occurred  to  the 
gentleman  from  Massachusetts  what  could  be  the  cause  why  such  a  hue  and 
cry  should  be  raised  against  an  administration  so  very  able  (permit  me  in 


APPENDIX.  283 

this,  however,  to  differ  from  the  gentleman — de  gustibus  non  esf] ;  what,  I 
say,  could  have  been  the  cause  why  Actseon  and  all  his  hounds,  or,  rather, 
why  the  dogs  of  war  were  let  slip  against  this  wise  and  able  and  virtuous 
and  loving  administration ;  these  patterns  of  political  friendship  and  con 
sistency  ;  and  have  continued  to  pursue  them,  till  they  lie  panting  and 
gasping  for  breath  on  the  highway — until  they  realize  the  beautiful  fable 
of  the  hare  and  many  friends.  The  cause  of  all  this  is  to  be  found  in  the 
manner  in  which  they  came  into  power — the  cause  of  this  "premature" 
opposition  lies  there,  and  there  mainly.  I  would  defy  all  the  public  presses 
in  the  world  to  have  brought  them  to  this  pass,  had  there  not  been  a  taint 
of  original  sin  in  their  body  politic,  and  which  cleaves  to  them  even  as 
the  sin  of  our  first  parents  taints  our  fallen  nature  and  cleaveth  to  us  all. 
The  gentleman  refers  to  those  who  compose  the  party  called  the  opposi 
tion,  and  says  it  is  formed  of  very  discordant  materials.  True,  sir;  but 
what  are  the  materials  of  the  party  which  upholds  the  administration ; 
nay,  of  the  administration  itself?  Are  they  perfectly  homogeneous?  I 
know  one  of  them,  who  has  been  raised  to  a  higher  station  than  most  men 
in  this  country.  Was  that  because  he  opposed,  or  because  he  espoused, 
the  election  of  the  present  chief  magistrate?  « 

Let  me  ask  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  what  could  cause  the  old 
Republican  party  in  New  England — the  worthy  successors  of  John  Lang- 
don  * — to  be  now  found  acting  with  us  ?  They  know — but  perhaps  some 
in  this  House  do  not  know — they  know  that  the  southern  interest  is  as 
much  their  ally  in  protecting  them  against  an  overweening  oligarchy  at 
home,  as  England  is  the  natural  ally  of  Portugal  against  the  power  of 
Spain  and  France ;  and  though  they  left  us  for  a  time,  yet  now  apprehend 
ing  danger,  and  seeing  through  the  artifices  of  their  betrayer,  they  have 
returned  to  us  their  old,  natural,  and  approved  allies.  Have  not  the  ad 
ministration  as  well  as  the  opposition  ways  and  means  and  funds  in  their 
Tiands  to  obtain  influence  and  buy  success?  Have  they  not  the  whole  of 
the  great  mass  of  patronage  in  their  hands  ?  But  the  gentleman  says,  that 
so  far  from  taking  care  of  their  adherents,  they  have  been  too  liberal  in 
bestowing  this  upon  their  enemies.  But  it  is  easy  to  account  for  this.  An 
ancient  apophthegm  tells  us  that  it  is  better  to  judge  between  two  of  your 

*See  Appendix— Note  G. 


284  APPENDIX. 

enemies  than  between  two  of  your  friends.  In  the  one  case  you  are 
almost  sure  by  your  decision  to  make  a  friend,  and  in  the  other  to  lose 
one.  Now,  sir,  our  able  and  practised  statesmen  know  that  by  giving  a 
loaf  and  a  fish  to  an  enemy  they  make  a  friend,  when  by  giving  them  to 
one  of  their  friends  they  might  disoblige  another,  who  might  think  his 
claims  disparaged — and  that,  sir,  is  the  whole  secret  of  their  neglecting 
their  friends. 

Permit  me,  sir,  again  to  ask,  how  comes  it  that  this  administration  are 
brought  into  their  present  very  curious  and  unprecedented  predicament? 
How  happens  it  that  they  alone,  of  all  the  administrations  which  have 
been  in  this  country,  find  themselves  in  the  minority  in  each  House  of 
Congress — "palsied  by  the  will  of  their  constituents1'1— when  the  very 
worst  of  their  predecessors  kept  a  majority  till  midnight  on  the  third  or 
fourth  of  March,  whichever  you  please  to  call  it  ?  Ay,  sir,  under  the  ad 
ministration  to  which  I  allude,  there  were  none  of  these  compunctious 
visitings  of  nature  at  the  attacks  made  on  private  character.  We  had  no 
chapter  of  lamentations  then  on  the  ravaging  and  desolating  war  on  the 
fair  fame  of  all  the  wise  and  virtuous  and  good  of  our  land.  The  noto 
rious  Peter  Porctipine,  since  even  better  known  as  William  Cobbet,  was 
the  especial  protegd  of  that  administration.  I  heard  them  say,  I  do  not 
mean  the  head  of  that  administration,  but  one  of  its  leaders,  that  he  was 
the  greatest  man  in  the  world ;  and  I  do  not  know  that,  in  point  of  sheer 
natural  endowment,  he  was  so  very  far  wrong.  Yes,  sir,  it  was  that  very 
Cobbet,  who,  if  the  late  publications  may  be  trusted,  now  says  that  Mr. 
Adams  has  fifteen  hundred  slaves  in  Virginia.  Was  there  any  slander  too 
vile,  too  base  for  that  man  to  fabricate  ?  I  remember  well  the  nicknames 
under  which  we  passed — yes,  sir,  I  can  proudly  say  ive,  although  the 
humblest  in  the  ranks :  Mr.  Gallatin  was  ClTOYEN  GUILLOTINE,  with  le 
petit  fenetre  national  at  his  back.  The  caricature  then,  as  well  as  now, 
constituted  no  small  part  of  the  munitions  of  political  war.  The  pencil 
and  the  graver  (they  had  no  want  of  tools  of  any  sort)  lent  their  aid  to  the 
pen  and  the  ballad  and  the  military  band  of  music.  "  Down  with  the 
French!"  (that  is,  the  best  men  of  our  country,)  was  the  cry.  My  excel 
lent  and  able  colleague,  Mr.  Nicholas — one  of  the  purest  and  most  pious 
of  men,  who  afterwards  removed  to  the  State  of  New  York,  and  was  a 
model  of  Republican  virtue  and  simplicity,  that  might  have  adorned  the 
best  days  of  Sparta  or  of  Rome — he,  sir,  having  the  misfortune  to  lose  an. 


APPENDIX.  285 

eye,  was  held  up  to  ridicule  as  Polyphemus?*  You  are  shocked  at  this, 
sir;  but  let  me  tell  you  that  it  was  only  a  little  innocent,  harmless,  Fede 
ral  wit  —  and  the  author  was  the  especial  protegd  of  "government"  and  its 
adherents.  All  chuckled  over  the  Porcupine.  To  that  party  the  present 
incumbent  then  belonged  —  and  another  member  of  this  pure  administra 
tion;  and  these  two  Sedition  Laws,  black-cockade  heroes,  are  recom 
mended  by  the  "  ANTI-JACKSON  Convention"  to  Virginia  for  her  Presi 
dent  and  Vice  President!  They  have  not  even  the  merit  of  an  early  con 
version.  They  are  true  Swiss  of  State  —  point  d"1  argent,  point  de  Suisse, 
My  venerable  friend  from  North  Carolina  was  Monsieur  Magon,  with  a 
cedilla  under  the  9,  to  mark  him  the  more  for  a  PVenchman.  I  forget  the 
cognomen  of  the  learned  gentleman  from  Louisiana  (Mr.  Livingston):  I 
know  that  he  was  never  spared.  I  remember  well  my  own  :  I  wish,  sir, 
it  was  applicable  now,  for  I  was  then  a  boy.  Every  sanctuary  was  then 
invaded.  As  to  Mr.  Jefferson,  every  epithet  of  vituperation  was  exhausted 
upon  him.  He  was  an  atheist,  a  Frenchman  ;  we  were  all  atheists  and 
traitors  ;  our  names  and  cause  associated  with  the  cannibals  and  the  can 
nibalism  of  the  revolutionary  tribunal,  and  with  all  the  atrocities,  the  most 
atrocious  and  revolting  of  which  has  this  day  been  presented  to  the  House 
by  the  chaste  imagination  of  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts.  Yes,  sir, 
then,  as  now,  a  group  of  horrors  was  pressed  upon  the  public  imagination, 
to  prop  the  sinking  cause  of  a  desperate  administration.  Religion  and 
order  were  to  be  subverted,  the  national  debt  to  be  sponged,  and  the  coun 
try  to  be  drenched  in  its  best  blood  by  Mr.  Jefferson  and  his  Jacobin  adhe 
rents.  Even  good  men,  and  not  unwise  men,  were  brought  to  believe  this. 
Mr.  Jefferson  was  elected;  and  we  know  what  followed.  But  this,  it  may 


*  He  also  was  described  as  CITIZEN  NICOLAI.  General  Sumpter,  of  South  Carolina,  a 
veteran  of  the  Revolution,  covered  with  honorable  wounds  and  scars,  was,  by  some  of  the 
myrmidons  of  the  administration,  forced  from  his  seat  in  the  CIRCUS,  compelled  to  stand 
up,  his  hat  taken  from  his  head,  and  his  hands  forcibly  made  to  clap,  when  Mr.  Adams 
f  ntered  the  theatre,  and  "  HAIL  COLUMBIA  !"  was  struck  up  by  the  band.  This  stern  old 
Republican  was  thus  involuntarily  compelled  to  join  in  the  incense  to  the  idol  of  the  day. 
He  yet  lives  to  read  1  hope  this  mention  of  him  by  an  old  friend. 

My  venerable  friend,  Mr.  Macon,  told  me,  within  twenty-four  hours  past,  that  the  only 
time  in  his  life  that  he  ever  drew  a  knife  was  in  the  play-house,  when  our  party  (myself 
especially)  was  insulted  by  the  military. 

They  used  to  play  the  Rogue's  March  under  the  windows  of  the  house  where  he  and 
Nicholas  and  Gallatin  lodged  !  So  much  for  THE  REIGN  OF  TEEROE  !  aa  it  was  justly 
styled  by  the  Republicans  of  that  day. 


APPENDIX. 

be  said,  was  not  done  by  our  own  people;  it  was  done  by  foreign  hire 
lings,  mercenaries.  Sir,  it  is  not  only  of  this  description  of  persons  that  I 
speak.  It  was  done  in  the  glorious  days  of  the  Sedition  Law  and  the 
black  cockade,  when  we  found  in  General  Shee  and  his  legion  protection 
against  the  Praetorian  bands  of  the  administration.  These  brave  fellows 
were  many  of  them  Irish  or  German,  and  most  of  them  of  Irish  or  Ger 
man  parentage,  chiefly  from  the  Northern  Liberties,  then  the  stronghold  of 
Republicanism;  and  therefore  branded  with  the  opprobrious  name  of  the 
Fauxboug  St.  Antoine,  the  most  Jacobin  quarter  of  Paris. 

At  the  very  time  that  the  act  noted  by  the  gentleman  from  Massachu 
setts  was  passed  (May,  1800),  when  Professor  Cooper  was  escorted  to  jail, 
a  victim  of  the  Sedition  Law,  the  New  York  election  then,  as  of  late, 
rung  the  knell  of  the  departing  administration.  Sir,  when  the  gentleman 
favored  us  with  his  opinion  of  the  present  stupendous  administration,  I 
imagine  he  drew  it  from  a  comparison  with  some  of  the  administrations 
which  preceded  it.  In  comparison  with  some  of  these,  even  this  admin 
istration  is  great  :  for  we  have  seen  the  least  of  all  possible  things  —  the 
poorest  of  all  poor  creatures  that  ever  was  manufactured  into  a  head  of  a 
department  (and  that's  a  bold  word),  a  member  of  a  former  administra 
tion  —  almost  a  satire  on  the  name.  This  personage,  as  I  have  very  lately 
learned,  in  imitation  of  another  great  man  from  the  same  State,  took  some 
liberties  in  public  with  my  name,  when  he  had  the  Atlantic  for  a  barrier, 
the  Summer  before  last.  Like  his  great  friend,  his  courage  shows  itself 
three  thousand  miles  off.  It  is  in  the  ratio  of  the  square  of  the  distance 
of  his  adversary.  Sir,  I  should  like  to  have  seen  how  he  would  have 
looked,  if,  on  finishing  his  harangue,  he  had  found  me  at  his  elbow.  I 
think  I  can  conceive  how  he  would 


Sir,  I  have  much  to  say,  which  neither  my  own  weakness,  nor  my  re 
gard  to  the  politeness  of  this  House,  will  permit  me  now  to  say.  As  I 
have  exonerated  the  principal  of  that  weighty  affair  of  the  billiard  table, 
I  also  exonerate  him  and  his  lieutenant  from  every  charge  of  collusion  — 
in  the  first  instance  ;  and,  if  it  is  in  order,  I  will  state  the  reasons  for  my 
opinion.  When  the  first  alliance  was  patched  up  between  the  two  great 
leaders  of  the  East  and  West,  neither  of  the  high  contracting  parties  had 
the  promotion  of  the  present  incumbent  at  all  in  view.  Sir,  I  speak 

*  "  Mr.  C.  very  humorously,  and  it  is  said  very  closely,  mimicked  Mr.  Randolph  in  quot 
ing  some  parts  of  Mr.  R.'s  speech."—  Salem  Observer.    "  0  rare  Ben  !" 


APPENDIX.  28T 

knowingly  as  to  one  of  these  parties,  and  with  the  highest  degree  of  moral 
probability  of  the  other.*  Can  it  be  necessary  that  I  'prove  this  ?  The 
thing  proves  itself.  The  object  was  to  bring  in  one  of  the  parties  to  the 
compact,  whom  the  constitution  subsequently  excluded,  and,  of  course,  to 
provide  for  the  other.  A  gentleman,  then  of  this  House,  was  a  candidate, 
who,  to  the  last  hour,  cast  many  a  longing,  although  not  lingering,  look, 
with  outstretched  neck,  towards  Louisiana— -jugulo  qucesita  negatur — to 
discover  whether  or  not  he  should  be  one  upon  the  list.  Sir,  it  is  impos 
sible  that  he  could,  in  the  first  instance,  have  looked  to  the  elevation  of 
another,  or  have  designed  to  promote  the  views  of  any  man,  but  in  sub 
serviency  to  his  own.  Common  sense  forbids  it.  But  all  these  calcula 
tions,  however  skilful,  and  Demoivre  could  not  have  made  better,  utterly 
failed.  The  partners  had  two  strings  to  their  bow — Mr.  Crawford's  death, 
or  Mr.  Clay's  being  ahead  of  Mr.  Crawford,  by  getting  the  vote  of  Lou 
isiana,  or  those  votes  in  New  York  which  were  so  strangely,  and  at  the 
time  unaccountably,  given  to  Mr.  Crawford.  They  took  the  field  with  a 
double  percussion  gun,  and  banged  away,  right  and  left;  but,  good  marks 
men  as  they  were,  both  barrels  missed.  Louisiana  refused  to  vote  as  ob 
stinately  as  Mr.  Crawford  refused  to  die;  and  so  the  gentleman  was  ex 
cluded.  It  was  then  that  Mr.  Adams  was  first  taken  up,  as  a  pis  alter, 
which  we  planters  of  the  south  translate,  a  hand  plant. 

Sir,  I  have  a  right  to  know ;  I  had  a  long  while  before  an  interview 
with  the  very  great  man;  but  not  on  that  subject:  no,  Sir, — It  was  about 
business  of  this  house — and  he  so  far  descended,  or  I  should  rather  say 
of  so  very  great  a  man,  condescended,  as  to  electioneer  even  with  me. 
He  said  to  me,  among  other  things,  "  if  you  of  the  South  will  give 
us  of  the  West  any  other  man  than  John  Quincy  Adams  for  President, 
we  will  support  him."  Let  any  man  deny  this  who  dare — but  remember^ 
he  then  expected  to  be  a  candidate  before  the  House  himself.  "  If  you 
will  give  us  any  other  man  !"  Sir,  the  gentleman  in  question  can  have  no 
disposition  to  deny  it.  It  was  at  a  time  when  he  and  the  present  incum 
bent  were  publicly  pitted  against  each  other,  and  Mr.  Adams  crowed 
defiance  and  clapped  his  wings  against  the  Cock  of  Kentucky.  Sir,  I 
know  this  to  be  a  strong  mode  of  expression.  I  did  not  take  it  literally. 
I  thought  I  understood  the  meaning  to  be  that  Virginia,  by  her  strenuous 
support  of  Mr.  Crawford,  would  further  the  success  of  Mr.  Adams.  "  Any 

*  See  Appendix— Note  B. 


288  APPENDIX. 

other  man,  sir,  besides  John  Quincy  Adams."  Now,  as  neither  Mr.  Craw 
ford  nor  General  Jackson  in  the  end  proved  to  be  "  any  other  man,"  it 
follows  clearly  who  any  other  man  was,  viz  :  one  other  man — id  est,  my 
self  (as  a  gentleman  once  said  iij.this  House),  "  we  will  support  him." 
But,  sir,  as  soon  as  this  egomet  was  out  of  the  question,  we  of  the  South 
lost  all  our  influence,  and  "  we  of  the  West"  gave  us  of  the  South  this  very 
John  Quincy  Adams  for  President,  and  received  from  him  the  very  office, 
which  being  held  by  him,  we  of  the  West  assigned  as  the  cause  of  our  sup 
port,  considering  it  to  be  a  sort  of  reversionary  interest  in  the  presidency. 
(See  the  letter  to  Mr.  F.  Brooke.)  It  was,  indeed,  "  ratsbane  in  our 
mouth,"  but  we  swallowed  the  arsenic.* 

Sir,  a  powerful  party  of  New  England  was  equally  opposed  to  Mr. 
Adams,  the  high  Federal  party,  or  the  Essex  junto,  so-called — all  the  suc 
cessors  of  the  George  Cabots,  and  Caleb  Strongs,  and  Stephen  Higgin- 
sons — I  should  rather  say  their  representatives,  and  all  their  surviving 
coadjutors — were  against  him,  with  one  exception,  and  that  was  an  honest 
man,  of  whom  it  was  said  in  this  House  that  he  ought  to  desire  no  other 
epitaph  but  that  which  might  truly  be  inscribed  to  his  tomb  :  "  Here  lies 
the  man  who  was  honored  by  the  friendship  of  Washington,  and  the 
enmity  of  his  successor."  Sir,  who  persecuted  the  name  of  Hamilton 
while  living,  and  followed  him  beyond  the  grave?  The  father  and  the 
son.  Who  were  the  persecutors  of  Fisher  Ames,  whose  very  grave  was 
haunted  as  if  by  vampyres  ?  Both  father  and  son.  Who  attempted  to 
libel  the  present  chief  justice,  and  procure  his  impeachment — making  the 
seat  of  John  Smith,  of  Ohio,  the  peg  to  hang^the  impeachment  on  ?  The 


*  It  has  been  suggested  to  me  since  the  above  was  spoken,  by  one  who  ought  to  know  a 
good  deal  of  New  York  politics,  and  to  whom  it  occurred  while  I  was  making  this  de 
velopment,  and  in  consequence  of  it,  that  Mr.  Adams,  who  could  not  be  blind  to  the 
game  that  was  playing  between  Mr.  C.  and  Mr.  W.,  caused  the  vote  which  Mr.  Crawford 
got  in  New  York  to  be  given  to  him,  then  no  longer  the  most  formidable  opponent,  for 
the  express  purpose  of  excluding  Mr.  Clay,  from  whom  the  greatest  danger  was  to  be 
apprehended  from  the  House,  by  ensuring  Mr.  Crawford's  return.  Thus  the  biters  were 
bit,  and  Messrs.  C.  and  W.  had  to  make  terms  with  Mr.  A.  who,  in  requital  for  the  vote  of 
Mr.  C.  and  his  friends,  graciously  received  them  into  favor.  Yes,  the  allies  completely 
circumvented  by  this  manoeuvre  on  the  part  of  Mr.  A.,  had  no  other  alternative  than  to 
go  over  to  him,  who,  no  doubt,  nothing  loth,  met  them  full  half  way. 

Reader !  Is  there  anything  in  Moliere  or  Congreve  surpassing  this  ?  Can  Scapin  or 
Maskwell  beat  this? 


APPENDIX.  289 

son.  I,  as  one  of  the  grand  jury,  and  my  colleague,  Mr.  Garnett,*  were 
called  upon  by  the  chairman  of  the  committee  of  the  Senate  in  Smith's 
case  (Mr.  Adams)  to  testify  in  that  case.  Sir,  do  you  remember  a  com 
mittee,  raised  at  the  same  time  in  this  House,  to  inquire  whether  the  failure 
of  Burr's  prosecution  grew  out  of  "the  evidence,  the  law,  or  the  adminis 
tration  of  the  law?"  For  my  sins  I  suppose  I  was  put  upon  that  commit 
tee.  The  plain  object  was  the  impeachment  of  the  judge  who  presided 
on  the  trial.  This  was  one  of  the  early  oblations  (the  first  was  the  writ  of 
habeas  corpus]  of  the  present  incumbent  on  the  altar  of  his  new  political 
church.  Who  accused  his  former  Federal  associates  in  New  England  of 
a  traitorous  conspiracy  with  the  British  authorities  in  Canada  to  dismem 
ber  the  Union?  The  present  incumbent.  Yet  all  is  forgiven  him — 
Hamilton,  Ames,  Marshall,  themselves  accused  of  treason — all  is  for 
given;  and  these  men,  with  one  exception,  now  support  him;  and  for 
what? 

Sir,  I  will  take  the  letter  to  the  President  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  in 
Virginia,  and  on  that  letter,  and  on  facts  which  are  notorious  as  the  sun  at 
noonday,  it  must  be  established  that  there  was  a  collusion,  and  a  corrupt 
collusion,  between  the  principals  in  this  affair.  I  do  not  say  the  agree 
ment  was  a  written  or  even  a  verbal  one — I  know  that  the  language  of 
the  poet  is  true — that  men  who  "meet  to  do  a  damned  deed"  cannot  bring 
even  themselves  to  speak  of  it  in  distinct  terms — they  cannot  call  a  spade 
a  spade — but  eke  out  their  unholy  purpose  with  dark  hints,  and  inuen- 
does,  and  signs,  and  shrugs,  where  more  is  meant  than  meets  the  ear.  Sir, 
this  person  was  willing  to  take  any  man  who  would  secure  the  end  that  he 
had  in  view.  He  takes  office  under  Mr.  Adams,  and  that  very  office  too 
which  had  been  declared  to  be  in  the  line  of  safe  precedents — that  very 
office  which  decided  his  preference  of  Mr.  Adams.  Sir,  are  we  children  ? 
Are  we  babies?  Can't  we  make  out  apple-pie,  without  spelling  and  put- 


*  James  M.  Garnett,  Esq.,  of  the  county  of  Essex,  Virginia,  a  member  of  the  grand 
jury,  and  also  of  Congress  during  Mr.  Jefferson's  administration.  Our  friendship  com 
menced  soon  after  he  took  his  seat  in  Congress,  and  has  continued  uninterrupted  by  a 
single  moment  of  coolness  or  alienation  during  three-and-twenty  years,  and  very  trying 
times,  political  and  otherwise.  I  take  a  pride  in  naming  this  gentleman  among  my 
steady,  uniform  and  unwavering  friends.  In  Congress  he  never  said  an  unwise  thing,  or 
gave  a  bad  vote.  Ho  has  kept  the  faith  from  1799,  when  he  supported  the  doctrines  of 
Madison's  famous  report  made  at  the  session  of  the  Virginia  Assembly,  of  which  he  was  a 
member.  He  came  into  Congress  in  1805,  and  left  it  March  4,  1809. 
19 


290  APPENDIX. 

ting  the  letters  together — a-p,  ap,  p-l-e,  pie,  ap-ple,  p-i-e,  pie,  apple-pie? 
Sir,  the  fact  can  never  be  got  over,  and  it  is  this  fact  which  alone  could 
make  this  administration  to  rock  and  totter  to  its  base  in  spite  of  the  indis 
cretion  (to  say  no  worse),  in  spite  of  all  the  indiscretions  of  its  adversa 
ries.  For,  sir,  there  never  was  a  man  who  had  so  much  cause  as  General 
Jackson  has  had  to  say,  "  Save  me  from  my  friends  and  I  will  take  care  of 
my  enemies."  Yes,  sir,  he  could  take  care  of  his  enemies — from  them 
he  never  feared  danger;  but  not  of  his  friends — at  least  of  some,  whose 
vanity  has  prompted  them  to  couple  their  obscure  names  with  his — and  it 
is  because  he  did  take  care  of  his  enemies,  who  were  his  country's  enemies, 
and  for  other  reasons  which  I  could  state,  that  his  cause  is  now  espoused 
by  that  grateful  country.  "  But  General  Jackson  is  no  statesman."  Sir,  I 
deny  that  there  is  any  instance  on  record  in  history  of  a  man  not  having 
military  capacity  being  at  the  head  of  any  government  with  advantage  to 
that  government,  and  with  credit  to  himself.  There  is  a  great  mistake  or* 
this  subject.  It  is  not  those  talents  which  enable  a  man  to  write  books 
and  make  speeches  that  qualify  him  to  preside  over  a  government.  The 
wittiest  of  poets  has  told  us,  that 

"All  a  Rhetorician's  rules, 
Teach  only  how  to  name  his  tools." 

We  have  seen  Professors  of  Rhetoric  who  could  no  doubt  descant  fluently 
upon  the  use  of  these  said  tools ;  yet  sharpen  them  to  so  wiry  an  edge  as 
to  cut  their  own  fingers  with  these  implements  of  their  trade.  Thomas  a 
Becket  was  as  brave  a  man  as  Henry  the  Second,  and,  indeed,  a  braver 
man — less  infirm  of  purpose.  And  who  were  the  Hildebrands  and  the 
rest  of  the  Papal  freebooters  who  achieved  victory  after  victory  over  the 
proudest. monarchs  and  states  of  Christendom?  These  men  were  brought 
up  in  a  cloister  perhaps,  but  they  were  endowed  with  that  highest  of  all 
the  gifts  of  heaven,  the  capacity  to  lead  men,  whether  in  the  Senate  or  the 
field.  Sir,  it  is  one  and  the  same  faculty,  and  its  successful  display  has 
always  received,  and  ever  will  receive,  the  highest  honors  that  man  can 
bestow ;  and  this  will  be  the  case  do  what  you  will,  cant  what  you  may, 
about  military  chieftains  and  military  domination.  So  long  as  man  is  man> 
the  victorious  defender  of  his  country  will,  and  ought,  to  receive  that 
country's  suffrage  for  all  that  the  forms  of  her  government  allow  her  to 
give. 

A  friend  said  to  me,  not   long  since,  "Why  General  Jackson   can't 


APPENDIX.  291 

write" — "admitted."  (Pray,  sir,  can  you  tell  me  of  any  one  that  can 
write?  for  I  protest  I  know  nobody  that  can.)  Then  turning  to  my  friend 
I  said,  "It  is  most  true  that  General  Jackson  cannot  write"  (not  that  he 
can't  write  his  name,  or  a  letter,  &c.),  "  because  he  has  never  been  taught ; 
but  his  competitor  cannot  write, because  he  was  not  teachable;"  for  he  has 
had  every  advantage  of  education  and  study.  Sir,  the  Duke  of  Marl- 
borough,  the  greatest  captain  and  negotiator  of  his  age — which  was  the 
age  of  Louis  XIV — and  who  may  rank  with  the  greatest  men  of  any  age; 
whose  irresistible  manners  and  address  triumphed  over  every  obstacle  in 
.  council,  as  his  military  prowess  and  conduct  did  in  the  field — this  great  man 
could  not  even  spell,  and  was  notoriously  ignorant  of  all  that  an  under 
graduate  must  know,  but  which  it  is  not  necessary  for  a  man  at  the  head 
of  affairs  to  know  at  all.  Would  you  have  superseded  him  by  some  Scotch 
schoolmaster  ?  Gentlemen  forget  that  it  is  an  able  helmsman  we  want  for 
the  ship  of  State,  and  not  a  Professor  of  Navigation  or  Astronomy. 

Sir,  among  the  vulgar  errors  that  ought  to  go  into  Sir  Thomas  Brown's 
book  this  ought  not  to  be  omitted:  that  learning  and  wisdom  are  not 
synonymous,  or  at  all  equivalent.  Knowledge  and  wisdom,  as  one  of  our 
most  delightful  poets  sings — 

"  Knowledge  and  wisdom,  far  from  being  one, 
Have  oft  times  no  connexion — knowledge  dwells 
In  heads  replete  with  thoughts  of  other  men ; 
Wisdom,  in  minds  attentive  to  their  own. 
Knowledge  is  proud  that  he  has  learned  so  much; 
Wisdom  is  humble  that  he  knows  no  more. 
Books  are  not  seldom  talismans  and  spells, 
By  which  the  magic  art  of  shrewder  wits 
Holds  the  unthinking  multitude  enchained." 

And  not  books  only,  sir — speeches  are  not  less  deceptive.  I  not  only 
consider  the  want  of  what  is  called  learning  not  to  be  a  disqualification  for 
the  command  in  chief  in  civil  or  military  life,  but  I  do  consider  the  posses 
sion  of  too  much  learning  to  be  of  most  mischievous  consequence  to  such 
a  character;  who  is  to  draw  from  the  cabinet  of  his  own  sagacious  mind, 
and  to  make  the  learning  of  others,  or  whatever  other  qualities  they  may 
possess,  subservient  to  his  more  enlarged  and  vigorous  views.  Such  a  man 
was  Cromwell — such  a  man  was  Washington.  *  Not  learned,  but  wise. 

*  Washington  had  a  plain  English  education,  and  mathematics  enough  to  qualify  him 
for  a  land  surveyor. 


292  APPENDIX. 

Their  understandings  were  not  clouded  or  cramped,  but  had  fair  play. 
Their  errors  were  the  errors  of  men,  not  of  school  boys  and  pedants.  So 
far  from  the  want  of  what  is  called  education  being  a  very  strong  objec 
tion  to  a  man  at  the  head  of  affairs,  over-education  constitutes  a  still 
stronger  objection.  [In  the  case  of  a  lady  it  is  fatal.  Heaven  defend  me 
from  an  over-educated,  accomplished  lady.  Yes,  accomplished  indeed, 
for  she  is  finished  for  all  the  duties  of  a  wife,  or  mother,  or  mistress  of  a 
family.]  We  hear  much  of  military  usurpation — of  military  despotism — of 
the  sword  of  a  conqueror — of  Caesar,  and  Cromwell,  and  Bonaparte. 
What  little  I  know  of  Roman  history  has  been  gathered  chiefly  from  the 
surviving  letters  of  the  great  men  of  that  day — of  Cicero  especially — and 
I  freely  confess  that,  if  I  had  then  lived,  and  had  been  compelled  to  take 
sides,  I  must,  though  very  reluctantly,  have  sided  with  Caesar,  rather  than 
have  taken  Pompey  for  my  master.  It  was  the  interest  of  the  house  of 
Stuart — and  they  were  long  enough  in  power  to  do  it — to  blacken  the 
character  of  Cromwell — that  great,  and,  I  must  add,  bad  man.  But,  sir, 
the  devil  himself  is  not  so  black  as  he  is  sometimes  painted.  And  who 
would  not  rather  have  obeyed  Cromwell  than  that  self-styled  Parliament, 
which  obtained  a  title  too  indecent  for  me  to  name,  but  by  which  it  is 
familiarly  known  and  mentioned  in  all  the  historians  from  that  day  to  this. 
Cromwell  fell  under  a  temptation,  perhaps  too  strong  for  the  nature  of  man 
to  resist — but  he  was  an  angel  of  light  to  either  of  the  Stuarts — the  one 
whom  he  brought  to  the  block,  or  his  son,  a  yet  worse  man,  the  blackest 
and  foulest  of  miscreants  that  ever  polluted  a  throne.  It  has  been  the 
policy  of  the  house  of  Stuart  and  their  successors — it  is  the  policy  of 
kings  to  vilify  and  blacken  the  memory  and  character  of  Cromwell.  But 
the  cloud  is  rolling  away.  We  no  longer  consider  Hume  as  deserving  of 
the  slightest  credit.  Cromwell  was  "guiltless  of  his  country's  blood." 
His  was  a  bloodless  usurpation.  To  doubt  his  sincerity  at  the  outset,  from 
his  subsequent  fall,  would  be  madness — religious  fervor  was  the  prevailing 
temper  and  fashion  of  the  times.  Cromwell  was  no  more  of  a  fanatic 
than  Charles  the  First,  and  not  so  much  of  a  hypocrite.  It  was  not  in  his 
nature  to  have  signed  the  attainder  of  such  a  friend  as  Lord  Strafford, 
whom  Charles  meanly  and  selfishly  and  basely  and  cruelly  and  cowardly 
repaid  for  his  loyalty  to  him  by  an  ignominious  death — a  death  deserved, 
indeed,  by  Strafford,  for  his  treason  to  his  country,  but  not  at  the  hands  of 
his  faithless,  perfidious  master.  Cromwell  was  an  usurper,  'tis  granted; 
but  he  had  scarcely  any  choice  left  him.  His  sway  was  every  way  prefer- 


APPENDIX.  293 

able  to  that  miserable  corpse  of  a  Parliament  that  he  turned  out,  as  a 
gentleman  would  turn  off  a  drunken  butler  and  his  fellows;  or  the  pen 
sioned  tyrant  that  succeeded  him — a  dissolute,  depraved  bigot  and  hypo 
crite,  who  was  outwardly  a  Protestant,  and  at  heart  a  Papist.  He  lived 
and  died  one,  while  pretending  to  be  a  son  of  the  church  of  England; 
ay,  and  swore  to  it,  and  died  a  perjured  man.  If  I  must  have  a  master, 
give  me  one  whom  I  can  respect,  rather  than  a  knot  of  knavish  attorneys. 
Bonaparte  was  a  bad  man;  but  I  would  rather  have  had  Bonaparte  than 
such  a  set  of  corrupt,  intriguing,  public  plunderers  as  he  turned  adrift.  * 
The  Senate  of  Rome — the  Parliament  of  England — "the  councils  of  el 
ders  and  of  youngsters" — the  Legislature  of  France — all  made  them 
selves  first  odious  and  then  contemptible;  and  then  comes  an  usurper;  and 
this  is  the  natural  end  of  a  corrupt  civil  government. 

There  is  a  class  of  men  who  possess  great  learning,  combined  with  in 
veterate  professional  habits,  and  who  are  ipso  facto,  or  perhaps  I  should 
rather  say  ipsis  fact  is,  for  I  must  speak  accurately,  as  I  speak  before  a  pro 
fessor,  disqualified  for  any  but  secondary  parts  anywhere — even  in  the 
cabinet.  Cardinal  Richelieu  was  what  ?  A  priest.  Yes,  but  what  a 
priest !  Oxenstiern  was  a  chancellor.  He  it  was  who  sent  his  son  abroad 
to  see — quam  parva  sapientia  regitur  mundiis — with  how  little  wisdom 
this  world  is  governed.  This  administration  seemed  to  have  thought  that 
even  less  than  that  little  would  do  for  us.  The  gentleman  called  it  a 
strong,  an  able  cabinet — second  to  none  but  Washington's  first  cabinet.  I 
could  hardly  look  at  him  for  blushing.  What!  Sir,  is  Gallatin  at  the 
head  of  the  treasury? — Madison  in  the  department  of  State?  The  mind 
of  an  accomplished  and  acute  dialectician,  of  an  able  lawyer,  or,  if  you 
please,  of  a  great  physician,  may,  by  the  long  continuance  of  one  pur 
suit — of  one  train  of  ideas — have  its  habits  so  inveterately  fixed,  as  effec 
tually  to  disqualify  the  possessor  for  the  command  of  the  councils  of  a 
country.  He  may,  nevertheless,  make  an  admirable  chief  of  a  bureau  — 
an  excellent  man  of  details — which  the  chief  ought  never  to  be.  A  man 
may  be  capable  of  making  an  able  and  ingenious  argument  on  any  subject 
within  the  sphere  of  his  knowledge ;  but  every  now  and  then  the  master 


*  The  Directory  and  the  Councils  (the  first  especially),  we  are  told  by  high  authority, 
were  known  familiarly  in  Paris  by  the  appellation  of  "  Les  Guevx  plumes."  It  was  then 
and  there  probably  that  a  late  President  of  the  United  States  acquired  the  first  rudiments 
of  his  taste  for  etiquette  and  costume,  which  has  since  displayed  itself  so  pitiably. 


294  APPENDIX. 

sophist  will  start,  as  I  have  seen  him  start,  at  the  monstrous  conclusions  to 
which  his  own  artificial  reasoning  had  brought  himself.  But  this  was  a 
man  of  more  than  ordinary  natural  candor  and  fairness  of  mind.  Sir,  by 
words  and  figures  you  may  prove  just  what  you  please;  but  it  often  and 
most  generally  is  the  fact,  that  in  proportion  as  a  proposition  is  logically 
or  mathematically  true,  so  is  it  politically  and  commonsensically  (or  rather 
nonsensically)  false.  The  talent  which  enables  a  man  to  write  a  book  or 
make  a  speech,  has  no  more  relation  to  the  leading  of  an  army  or  a  Se 
nate  than  it  has  to  the  dressing  of  a  dinner.  The  talent  which  fits  a  man 
for  either  office  is  the  talent  for  the  management  of  men — a  mere_  dialec 
tician  never  had,  and  never  will  have  it ;  each  requires  the  same  degree  o/- 
courage,  though  of  different  kinds.  The  very  highest  degree  of  moral 
courage  is  required  for  the  duties  of  government.  I  have  been  amused 
when  I  have  seen  some  dialecticians,  after  asserting  their  words — "  the 
counters  of  wise  men,  the  money  of  fools" — after  they  had  laid  down 
their  premises,  and  drawn,  step  by  step,  their  deductions,*  sit  down,  com 
pletely  satisfied,  as  if  the  conclusions  to  which  they  had  brought  them 
selves  were  really  the  truth — as  if  it  were  irrefragably  true.  But  wait 
until  another  cause  is  called,  or  till  another  court  sits — till  the  bystanders 
and  jury  have  had  time  to  forget  both  argument  and  conclusion,  and  they 
will  make  you  just  as  good  an  argument  on  the  other  side,  and  arrive  with 
the  same  complacency  at  a  directly  opposite  conclusion,  and  triumphantly 
demand  your  assent  to  this  new  truth.  Sir,  it  is  their  business — I  do  not 
blame  them.  I  only  say  that  such  a  habit  of  mind  unfits  men  for  action, 
for  decision.  They  want  a  client  to  decide  for  them  which  side  to  take ; 
and  the  really  great  man  performs  that  office.  This  habit  unfits  them  for 
government  in  the  first^degree.  The  talent  for  government  lies  in  these 
two  things — sagacity  to  perceive,  and  decision  to  act.  Genuine  statesmen 
were  never  made  such  by  mere  training — nascunter  nonfiunt — education 
will  form  good  businessmen.  The  maxim  (nascitur  non  fit}  is  as  true 
of  statesmen  as  it  is  of  poets.  Let  a  house  be  on  fire,  you  will  soon  see 
in  that  confusion  who  has  the  talent  to  command.  Let  a  ship  be  in  danger 
at  sea,  and  ordinary  subordination  destroyed,  and  you  will  immediately 
make  the  same  discovery.  The  ascendancy  of  mind  and  of  character 
exists  and  rises  as  naturally  and  as  inevitably,  where  there  is  free  play  for 
it,  as  material  bodies  find  their  level  by  gravitation.  Thus  a  great  logi- 

*See  Appendix— Note  C. 


APPENDIX.  295 

•cian,  like  a  certain  animal,  oscillating  between  the  hay  on  different  sides 
of  him,  wants  some  power  from  without,  before  he  can  decide  from  which 
bundle  to  make  a  trial.  Who  believes  that  Washington  could  write  as 
good  a  book  or  report  as  Jefferson,  or  make  as  able  a  speech  as  Hamilton? 
Who  is  there  that  believes  that  Cromwell  would  have  made  as  good  a 
judge  as  Lord  Hale?  No,  sir;  these  learned  and  accomplished  men  find 
their  proper  place  under  those  who  are  fitted  to  command,  and  to  com 
mand  them  among  the  rest.  Such  a  man  as  "Washington  will  say  to  a  Jef 
ferson,  do  you  become  my  Secretary  of  State;  to  Hamilton,  do  you  take 
charge  of  my  purse,  or  that  of  the  nation,  which  is  the  same  thing;  and 
to  Knox,  do  you  be  my  master  of  the  horse.  All  history  shows  this;  but 
great  logicians  and  great  scholars  are  for  that  very  reason  unfit  to  be  rulers. 
Would  Hannibal  have  crossed  the  Alps  when  there  were  no  roads — with 
elephants — in  the  face  of  the  warlike  and  hardy  mountaineers — and  have 
carried  terror  to  the  very  gates  of  Rome  if  his  youth  had  been  spent  in 
poring  over  books?  Would  he  have  been  able  to  maintain  himself  on  the 
resources  of  his  own  genius  for  sixteen  years  in  Italy,  in  spite  of  faction 
and  treachery  in  the  Senate  of  Carthage,  if  he  had  been  deep  in  conic  sec 
tions  and  fluxions,  and  the  differential  calculus — to  say  nothing  of  botany, 
and  mineralogy,  and  chemistry?  "Are  you  not  ashamed,"  said  a  philoso 
pher,  to  one  who  was  born  to  rule;  "are  you  not  ashamed  to  play  so  well 
upon  the  flute?"  Sir,  it  was  well  put.  There  is  much  which  it  becomes 
-a  secondary  man  to  know — much  that  it  is  necessary  for  him  to  know  that 
a  first  rate  man  ought  to  be  ashamed  to  know.  No  head  was  ever  clear 
and  sound  that  was  stuffed  with  book  learning.  You  might  as  well  at 
tempt  to  fatten  and  strengthen  a  man  by  stuffiing  him  with  every  variety 
and  the  greatest  quantity  of  food.  After  all,  the  chief  must  draw  upon  his 
subalterns  for  much  that  he  does  not  know,  and  cannot  perform  himself. 
My  friend,  William  R.  Johnson,  has  many  a  groom  that  can  clean  and 
dress  a  race  horse,  and  ride  him  too,  better  than  he  can.  But  what  of 
that?  Sir,  we  are,  in  the  European  sense  of  the  term,  not  a  military  peo 
ple.  We  have  no  business  for  an  army — it  hangs  as  a  dead  weight  upon 
the  nation — officers  and  all.  All  that  we  hear  of  it  is  through  pamphlets, 
indicating  a  spirit  that,  if  I  was  at  the  head  of  affairs,  I  should  very 
speedily  put  down.  A  state  of  things  that  never  could  have  grown  up 
under  a  man  of  decision  of  character  at  the  head  of  the  State  or  the  de 
partment — a  man  possessing  the  spirit  of  command — that  truest  of  all  tests 
•of  a  chief,  whether  military  or  civil.  Who  rescued  Braddock  when  he 


296  APPENDIX. 

was  fighting — sec^tndum  art  em — and  his  men  were  dropping  around  him 
on  every  side?  It  was  a  Virginia  militia  major.  He  asserted  in  that  crisis 
the  place  which  properly  belonged  to  him,  and  which  he  afterwards  filled 
in  the  manner  we  all  know. 

Sir,  I  may,  without  any  mock  modesty,  acknowledge  what  I  feel,  that  I 
have  made  an  unsuccessful  reply  to  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts. 
There  are  some  subjects  which  I  could  have  wished  to' have  touched  upon 
before  I  sit  down  now  and  forever.  I  had  the  materials  in  my  possession 
when  I  came  to  the  House  this  morning,  but  I  am  disabled  by  physical 
weakness  from  the  most  advantageous  use  of  them. 

What  shall  we  say  to  a  gentleman,  in  this  House  or  out  of  it,  occupying 
a  prominent  station,  and  filling  a  large  space  in  the  eye  of  his  native  State, 
who  should,  with  all  the  adroitness  of  a  practised  advocate,  gloss  over  the 
acknowledged  encroachments  of  the  men  in.  power  upon  the  fair  construc 
tion  of  the  constitution,  and  then  present  the  appalling  picture,  glaring  and 
flaming,  in  his  deepest  colors,  of  a  bloody  military  tyrant — a  raw-head  and 
bloody-bones — so  that  we  cannot  sleep  in  our  beds;  who  should  conjure 
up  all  the  images  that  can  scare  children,  or  frighten  old  women — I  mean 
very  old  women,  sir — and  who  offers  this  wretched  caricature — this  vile 
daub,  where  brick-dust  stands  for  blood,  like  Peter  Porcupine's  BLOODY 
BUOY,  as  a  reason  for  his  and  our  support  in  Virginia,  of  a  man  in  whom 
he  has  no  confidence,  whom  he  damns  with  faint  praise — and  who, 
moreover — tell  it  not  in  Gath !  had  zealously  and  elaborately  (I  cannot  say 
ably)  justified  every  one  of  these  very  atrocious  and  bloody  deeds?  Yes, 
sir,  on  paper — not  in  the  heat  of  debate,  in  the  transports  of  a  speech, 
but — as  the  author  of  the  Richmond  Anathema  full  well  knew — and  knew 
that  we,  too,  knew — deliberately  and  officially.  Who  instituted  the  festi 
val  of  Santa  Victoria  on  the  8th  of  January  in  honor  of  General  Jackson, 
and  of  Mrs.  Jackson  too?  The  present  incumbent,  when  Mr.  Crawford 
was  the  great  object  of  dread.  If  we  did  not  know  that  lawyers  never  see 
but  one  side  of  a  case — that  on  which  they  are  retained,  and  that  they 
fondly  hope  that  the  jury  will  see  with  their  eyes — what  should  we  say  of 
such  a  man  ?  His  client  having  no  character,  he  attacks  defendant's  char 
acter  upon  a  string  of  charges,  in  every  one  of  which  (supposing  them  to 
be  true)  his  client  was  self  avowed  particeps  criminis — having  defended, 
adopted,  and  made  each  and  every  one  of  them  his  own.  Sir,  such  a  man 
may  be  a  great  lawyer  (although  this  is  but  a  poor  specimen  of  his  skill  in 
that  line),  or  a  great  mathematician,  or  chemist;  but  of  a  man  guilty  of 


APPENDIX.  297" 

such  glaring  absurdity  it  may  be  fearlessly  pronounced  that,  in  the  manage 
ment  of  his  own  concerns  and  in  the  affairs  of  men,  he  has  not  "right 
good  common  sense."  And  here,  sir,  we  come  to  that  great  and  all-im 
portant  distinction  which  the  profane  vulgar — whether  they  be  the  great 
vulgar  or  the  small — too  often  overlook;  and  which  I  have  lamely,  I  fear, 
endeavored  to  press  upon  the  House — I  mean  the  distinction  between 
knowledge  and  learning  on  the  one  hand,  and  sense  and  judgment  on  the 
other.  And  there  lies  the  great  defect  of  the  gentleman  in  question.  I 
have  heard  it  said  of  him,  by  those  who  know,  and  love  him  well,  "that 
"he  can  argue  either  side  of  a  question,  whether  of  law,  of  policy,  or  of 
"  constitutional  construction,  with  great  ingenuity  and  force;  but  he  wants 
"  that  sagacity  in  political  affairs,  which  first  discerns  the  proper  end,  and 
"  then  adopts  the  most  appropriate  means:  and  he  is  deficient  in  that  know 
ledge  of  mankind,  which  would  enable  another  (much  his  inferior)  to 
"perceive  that  his  honest  disinterestedness  is  played  upon  by  those  who 
"are  conscious  that  he  prides  himself  upon  it.  //  is  the  lever  by  which  he 
"  is  on  all  occasions  to  be  moved.  It  is  his  pride — an  honest  and  honorable 
"pride,  which  makes  him  delight  to  throw  himself  into  minorities,  because 
"he  enjoys  more  self-gratification  from  manifesting  his  independence  of 
"  popular  opinion — than  he  could  derive  from  anything  in  the  gift  of  the 
"people.  His  late  production — the  Adams  Convention  manifesto,  is  the 
"  feeblest  production  of  the  day.  The  reason  is,  his  head  and  heart  did 
"  not  go  together"  * 

This  picture  is  drawn  by  the  hand  of  a  friend.  As  we  have  had  billiard 
tables  and  chess  boards  introduced  into  this  debate,  I  hope  I  may  be  al 
lowed  to  borrow  an  illustration  from  this  last  game.  One  of  these  arguing 
machines  reminds  me  of  the  bishop  at  chess.  The  black  or  white  bishop 
(I  use  the  term  .not  in  reference  to  the  color  of  the  piece,  but  of  that  of 
the  square  he  stands  upon)  is  a  serviceable  piece  enough  in  his  way;  but 
he  labors  under  this  defect;  that,  moving  in  the  diagonal  only,  he  can 
never  get  off  his  original  color.  His  clerical  character  is  indelible,  f  He 
can  scour  away  all  over  just  one-half of  the  board;  but  his  adversary  may 
be  on  the  next  square,  and  perfectly  safe  from  his  attack.  To  be  safe  from 
the  bishop,  you  have  only  to  move  upon  any  one  of  the  thirty -two  squares 
that  are  forbidden  ground  to  him.  But  not  so  the  irregular  knight,  who, 
at  successive  leaps,  can  cover  every  square  upon  the  board,  to  whose  check 


:See  Appendix— Note  D.  fAs  Home  Tooke  found  to  his  cost. 


298  APPENDIX. 

the  king  can  interpose  no  guard,  but  must  move  or  die.  Even  the  poor 
pawn  has  a  privilege  which  the  bishop  has  not;  for  he  can  elude  his  mitred 
adversary  by  moving  from  a  white  square  to  a  black  one,  or  from  a  black 
square  to  a  white  one,  and  finally  reach  the  highest  honors  of  the  game. 
So  even  a  poor  peasant  of  sense  may  instruct  the  philosopher,  as  the  shep 
herd  did,  in  that  beautiful  introduction,  the  finest  of  Mr.  Gay's  fables  but 
one,  who  drew  all  his  notions  of  men  and  things  from  nature.  It  is  in 
vain  to  turn  over  musty  folios,  and  to  double  down  dog's  ears;  it  does 
very  well  in  its  place — in  a  lawyer's  office  or  a  bureau — I  am  forced  to  use 
the  word  for  want  of  a  better;  but  it  will  not  supply  the  place  of  that 
which  books  never  gave,  and  never  can  give — of  sagacity,  judgment  and 
experience.  Who  would  make  the  better  leader  in  a  period  of  great  pub 
lic  emergency — old  Roger  Sherman,  or  a  certain  very  learned  gentleman 
from  New  York,  whom  we  once  had  here,  who  knew  everything  in  the 
world  for  which  man  has  no  occasion,  and  nothing  in  the  world  for  which 
man  has  gccasion?  The  people,  who  are  always  unsophisticated — and 
though  they  may  occasionally  be  misled,  are  always  right  in  their  feelings, 
and  always  judge  correctly  in  the  long  run — have  taken  up  this  thing.  It 
is  a  notorious  fact  that  in  Virginia,  in  the  county  courts,  where  men  are 
admitted  to  sit  as  judges,  who  are  not  of  the  legal  profession — plain  plan 
ters,  who  have  no  pretensions  to  be  considered  as  lawyers — the  decisions 
are  much  seldomer  reversed  than  in  those  courts  where  a  barrister  pre 
sides — his  reasons  may  be  more  plausible,  but  his  decisions  will  be  oftener 
wrong.  Yes,  sir,  the  people  have  decided  upon  this  thing. 

On  my  return  home  last  March  I  passed  by  Prince  Edward  Court-house. 
It  was  court  day.  I  had  been  abroad  during  the  recess  of  Congress,  and 
I  had  not  seen  my  constituents  for  two  years.  They  crowded  around  me, 
and  many  of  them  said,  "  Now  we  expect  that  you  will  explain  to  us  how 
it  is  that  we  are  to  vote  for  General  Jackson."  They,  as  well  as  myself, 
had  had  objections  to  General  Jackson,  although  I  always  said  in  regard 
to  him,  "  that  I  could  put  my  finger  upon  his  public  services — that  he  had 
strong  claims  upon  his  country,  while  his  competitors,  and  the  predecessor 
of  the  successful  one,  had  never  rendered  any  for  which  they  had  not  been 
amply  paid,  and  some  of  them  greatly  overpaid."  My  objections  to  Gene 
ral  Jackson  were  greatly  diminished  by  a  personal  acquaintance  with  him 
when  he  was  last  in  the  Senate.  But  to  my  constituents.  Singling  out 
one  of  them,  a  steady  old  planter,  and  staunch  Republican  friend,  I  asked 
him,  "  When  you  have  had  a  faithless,  worthless  overseer,  in  whom  you 


APPENDIX.  299 

'Could  place  no  confidence,  and  have  resolved  to  dismiss  him,  did  you  ever 
change  your  mind,  because,  for  no  matter  what  reason,  you  could  not  get 
the  man  that  you  preferred  to  every  other?  or  have  you  been  satisfied  to 
turn  him  off,  and  employ  the  best  man  that  you  could  get?"  Sir,  a  word 
to  the  wise  is  enough.  They  were  entirely  satisfied,  and  in  a  few  weeks 
we  were,  as  we  are,  unanimous  for  Jackson. 

I  will  suppose  a  case :  I  will  suppose  that  the  late  convulsive  struggles 
of  the  administration  may  so  far  succeed  as  they  shall  be  able  to  renew 
their  lease  for  another  four  years.  Now  if  a  majority  of  this  House  can't 
get  along  with  such  a  minority  hanging  on  their  rear,  cutting  off  supplies, 
and  beating  up  their  quarters,  what  will  be  the  situation  of  the  administra 
tion  then?  Sir,  what  is  it  now?  ""Palsied  by  the  "will  of  their  constitu 
ents"  Did  anybody  ever  hear  of  a  victory  obtained  by  the  Executive 
power  while  a  decided  majority  of  the  Legislature  was  against  it?  I 
know  of  no  such  victory,  but  one — and  that  was  the  parricidal  victory  of 
-the  younger  Pitt  over  the  constitution  of  England;  and  he  gained  that 
only  by  the  impenetrable  obstinacy  of  the  king,  which  then  gave  indica 
tions  of  the  disease  that  was  lurking  in  his  constitution,  and  afterwards  so 
unhappily  became  manifest. 

The  king  was  an  honest  man,  and  a  much  abler  man  than  he  ever  had 
credit  for.  But  he  was  incurably  obstinate.  He  had  just  lost  the  colo 
nies.  No  matter — he  would  risk  the  Crown  of  England  itself,  and  retire 
to  his  hereditary  States  in  Germany  rather  than  yield;  and,  but  for  a  bare 
faced  coalition,  he  would  have  so  retired,  and  have  supplied  a  most  im 
portant  defect  in  the  act  of  settlement — the  separation  of  Hanover  from 
England.  But  the  corrupt  bargain  of  Lord  North  and  Mr.  Fox,  to  share 
office  between  them,  disgusted  the  people — they  took  side  even  against 
their  own  liberties.  But  here  the  coalition  is  not  on  the  side  of  the  peo 
ple's  rights,  but  against  them.  Mr.  Pitt  (the  Crown  rather)  triumphed. 
Knaves  cried  Hosanna;  fools  repeated  the  cry.  England  recovered  by 
that  elasticity  which  belongs  to  free  institutions,  and  Mr.  Pitt  attained  a 
degree  of  power  that  enabled  him  to  plunge  her  into  the  mad  vortex  of 
war  with  Revolutionary  France.  Nine  hundred  millions  of  debt ;  taxes, 
in  amount,  in  degree,  in  mode,  unheard  of;  pauperism,  misery,  in  all  pos 
sible  forms  of  wretchedness;  attest  the  greatness  of  the  heaven-born 
minister,  who  did  not  weather  the  storm,  but  was  whelmed  beneath  it, 
leaving  his  country  to  that  Providence  whom  it  pleased  to  rescue  her  in 
Jher  utmost  need,  by  inflicting  madness  on  her  great  unrelenting  enemy, 


300  APPENDIX. 

and  sending  this  modern  Nebuchadnezzar  to  grass.  Mr.  Pitt  is  as  strong 
an  instance  for  my  purpose  as  I  could  have  wanted.  He  was  a  rheto 
rician,  a  speech  maker;  a  man  of  words,  and  good  words  too,  at  will;  a 
dexterous  debater;  and  if  he  had  continued  to  ride  the  Western  circuit, 
he  might  have  been  an  eminent  wrangler  at  the  bar,  and,  in  due  time,  a 
Chief  Justice  or  Lord  Chancellor.  But,  for  the  sins  of  England,  he  was 
made  Prime  Minister,  and  at  five-and-twenty,  too.  Mr.  Pitt  no  more  saw 
what  was  ahead  of  him,  than  the  pauper  in  the  parish  work-house.  He 
no  more  dreamed,  when  the  war  began,  to  what  point  he  would  be  able 
to  push  his  system,  if  system  it  may  be  called,  than  any  clerk  in  his  office. 
He  did  not  even  foresee  the  stoppage  of  the  Bank,  which  he  was  com 
pelled  to  resort  to  in  the  fourth  year  of  the  war.  If  he  had  foreseen  it, 
the  war  would  never  have  been  made.  Indeed,  Mr.  Pitt  did  not  foresee 
even  the  war — for  in  the  preceding  year,  I  think,  he  held  out  the  promise 
of  a  long  peace  to  the  faithful  Commons. 

The  productive  powers  of  a  people  like  the  English,  where  property  is 
perfectly  secure  and  left  free  to  act,  and  where  the  industrious  classes  are 
shut  out  from  almost  any  participation  in  public  affairs,  is  incredible,  is 
almost  without  a  limit.  Two  individuals  discovered  each  a  mine,  more 
precious  and  productive  than  Guanaxuato  or  Potosi,  that  furnished  the 
means  for  his  prodigality,  that  astonished  even  Mr.  Pitt.  These  were  Sir 
Richard  Arkwright  and  Mr.  Watt — the  spinning  machine  and  the  steam 
engine.  And  this  imbecile  and  blundering  Minister  has  been  compli 
mented  with  what  is  due  to  the  unrivalled  ingenuity  and  industry  of  his 
countrymen.*  So,  sir,  in  like  manner  this  young  Hercules  of  America, 
who  if  we  can  keep  him  from  being  strangled  in  the  cradle  by  the  ser 
pents  of  corruption,  must  grow  to  gigantic  strength  and  stature;  every  im 
provement  which  he  makes,  in  spite  of  the  misrule  of  his  governors,  these 
very  modestly  arrogate  to  themselves. 

We  have  been  told,  officially,  that  the  President  wished  the  great  ques 
tion  to  have  been  referred  back  to  the  people,  if,  by  the  forms  of  the  con 
stitution,  this  could  be  done.  If  I  were  the  friend,  as  I  am  the  undisguised 
enemy  of  this  administration,  I  would  say  to  them,  you  may  be  innocent, 
your  intentions  may  be  upright,  but  you  have  brought  the  country  to  that 
pass  that  you  can't  carry  on  the  government.  As  gentlemen,  possessing 
the  least  self-respect,  you  ought  to  retire — leave  it — try  another  venue — 

*  See  Appendix,  Note  E. 


APPENDIX.  301 

you  can't  carry  on  the  government  without  us,  any  more  than  we  can  act 
while  everything  in  the  Executive  Government  is  against  us.  Sir,  there 
are  cases  in  which  suspicion  is  equivalent  to  proof;  and  not  only  equal  to 
it,  but  more  than  equal  to  the  most  damning  proof.  There  is  not  a  hus 
band  here  who  will  not  ratify  this  declaration — there  may  be  suspicion  so 
agonizing  that  it  makes  the  wretch  cry  out  for  certainty  as  a  relief  from 
the  most  damning  tortures.  Such  is  the  picture  which  the  great  master  of 
the  human  heart  presents  to  us  in  the  person  of  the  noble  Moor — and 
Shakspeare  seems  to  have  known  the  heart  of  man  as  if  himself  had 
made  it.  Such  suspicions,  resting  on  no  false  suggestions  of  an  lago,  but 
supported  by  a  cloud  of  witnesses  and  a  long  array  of  facts  and  circum 
stances  that  no  sophistry  can  shake,  are  entertained  with  respect  to  these 
gentlemen;  and  although  they  are  making  a  convulsive  effort  to  roll  back 
the  tide  of  public  opinion,  they  cant  allay  the  feeling;  the  suspicion  rests 
upon  the  facts ;  and,  do  what  they  may,  facts  will  not  bend  at  their  bid 
ding.  Admit  it  to  be  suspicion,  it  is  equally  fatal  as  regards  them  and  the 
public  service  with  the  reality.  Mr.  R.  would  not  go  in  pursuit  of  the  alibis 
and  aliasses  of  the  accused — of  the  tubs,  whether  with  false  bottoms  or 
double  bottoms,  thrown  out  to  amuse  the  public.  The  whole  conduct  of 
the  accused  had  displayed  nothing  of  the  calm  dignity  of  innocence,  but 
all  the  restlessness  of  conscious  guilt.  Every  word  of  Mr.  Clay's  late 
pamphlet  might  be  true,  and  yet  the  accused  be  guilty  notwithstanding. 
Mr.  R.  would  not  now  examine  his  inconsistent  declarations  to  different 
persons  and  at  different  times  and  occasions.  The  secretary  was  not  the 
first  witness  who  had  proved  too  much.  "  He  who  pleads  his  own 
cause,"  says  the  proverb,  "generally  has  a  fool  for  his  client."* 

The  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  warned  us,  that  if  the  individual  we 
seek  to  elevate  shall  succeed,  he  will  in  his  turn  become  the  object  of  pub 
lic  pursuit,  and  that  the  same  pack  will  be  unkennelled  at  his  heels  that 
have  run  his  rival  down.  It  may  be  so.  I  have  no  hesitation  to  say,  that 
if  his  conduct  shall  deserve  it,  and  I  live,  I  shall  be  one  of  that  pack ;  be 
cause  I  maintain  the  interests  of  stockholders  against  presidents,  directors 
and  cashiers.  And  here,  sir,  I  beg  leave  to  notice  an  objection  urged,  as 
I  have  heard,  against  me  by  the  gentleman  from  Ohio  (Mr.  Vance).  He 
says  that  I  have  been  opposed  to  all  Administrations.  Sir,  I  deny  it  to  be 
fact.  I  did  oppose  the  elder  Adams,  because  he  attacked  the  liberty  of 

*  See  Appendix— Note  F. 


302  APPENDIX. 

the  press  and  of  the  subject,  because  his  opinions  were  at  war  with  the 
genius  of  our  institutions.  He  avowed  them  openly ;  and  I  liked  him  the 
better  for  his  frankness.  But  I  supported  for  more  than  five  years  the 
administration  of  his  successor.  I  did  for  it  what  I  could — little  enough, 
God  knows.  The  first  case  in  which  I  differed  from  that  administration 
was  the  ease  of  the  Yazoo  claims,  which  I  thought  a  case  of  flagrant  cor 
ruption  !  I  do  not  mean,  and  I  never  did  believe,  that  there  was  corrup 
tion  in  the  president  or  his  two  secretaries;  and  it  did  not  cause  me  to 
separate  myself  from  them.  I  separated  from  that  administration  three 
years  afterwards,  with  pain  and  sorrow,  and  not  without  some  anger 
too;  for  I  have  no  idea  of  that  extreme  of  candor  and  meekness  which 
denounces  the  measures  of  a  government,  as  Bottom  says  in  the  play, 
**  and  will  roar  you  as  gently  as  any  suckling  dove."  It  is  not  my  nature 
to  do  so;  and  it  would  be  criminal  and  ridiculous  in  me,  because  it  would 
be  hypocrisy  to  affect  it.  When  the  former  restrictive  system  was  first 
commenced,  I  thought  I  saw  what  I  now  know  I  did  then  see — the  fatal 
and  ruinous  consequences  that  would  grow  out  of  it.  I  told  Mr.  Jefferson,, 
candidly  and  frankly,  that  if  he  expected  support  in  a  certain  quarter  and 
did  not  find  it,  he  must  not  impute  want  of  candor  to  me.  I  will  not 
repeat  what  he  told  me  on  that  occasion ;  it  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  his 
language  and  conduct  was  that  of  a  gentleman.  I  frankly  laid  before 
him  the  facts  and  reasons  which  rendered  such  an  event  inevitable.  I 
will  not  repeat  what  he  said :  but  he  deplored  it. 

Sir,  I  know  that  he  deplored  it — for  he  told  me  so.  And  when  some 
of  the  ear-wigs,  that  infest  all  great  men,  sought  to  curry  favor  with  him 
by  relating,  after  their  manner,  the  hard  and  sharp  things  which  I  was 
said  to  have  uttered  on  the  floor  of  this  House  on  that  occasion,  he  coldly 
replied,  that,  to  do  Mr.  R.  justice,  he  had  been  full  as  explicit  as  severe 
in  his  presence.  *  But  permit  me  to  reimnd  you,  sir — for  you  were  then 
too  young  to  know  much  of  these  matters — that  previously,  but  nearly  at 
the  time  of  my  leaving  that  administration,  a  certain  wise  man  from  the 
East  joined  it,  who  soon  after  went  off  to  Canada,  under  strong  suspicion 
of  felony;  and  this  was  soon  followed  by  a  certain  gentleman's  giving  in 
his  adhesion,  who  had  before  been  violently  opposed  to  it,  and  to  all  its 

*  How  unlike  the  existing  system  of  delators,  and  spies,  and  runners,  from  the  Senate- 
Chamber  or  Hall  of  the  Representatives  to  the  Secretary  of  State's  office  or  house  during 
a  debate,  in  which  that  great  man  does  not  choose  to  be  present  in  person. 


APPENDIX.  303- 

best  measures.  Sir,  I  have  not  the  least  objection  to  its  being  said  of  me,, 
that  I  separated  myself  from  Mr.  Jefferson,  when  Barnabas  Bidwell  and 
John  Quincy  Adams  joined  him.* 

*  Never  was  an  administration  more  brilliant  than  that  of  Mr.  Jefferson's  up  to  this 
period.  We  weie  indeed  in  the  "full  tide  of  successful  experiment."  Taxes  repealed, 
the  public  debt  amply  provided  for — both  principal  and  interest— sinecures  abolished — 
Louisiana  acquired — public  confidence  unbounded.  We  had  all,  and  we  wanted  more 
than  all.  We  played  for  eleven  and  lost  the  game,  when  we  held  ten  in  hand.  From  the 
junction  of  Bidwell  and  Adams,  we  may  date  that  embargo  of  fifteen  months  that  eclipsed 
the  sun  of  our  glory,  and  disastrous  twilight  shed  on  more  than  half  the  nation.  Mr.  Madi 
son  removed  ihis  incubus,  of  wlich  we  were  tired,  but  ashamed  to  rid  ourselves.  The 
arrangement  with  Erskine  followed.  At  the  May  session  of  1809  the  House  of  Represen 
tatives  evaded  a  motion  expressive  of  their  approbation  of  the  promptitude  and  frankness 
with  which  the  President  had  concluded  this  arrangement.  It  was  soon  after  disavowed 
by  England. 

Mr.  Madison's  first  message  to  Congress  was  sent  on  Tuesday,  May  23,1809,  announcing 
the  arrangement  with  Erpkine,  and  the  consequent  restoration  of  our  intercourse  with 
England  from  and  "after  the  10th  day  of  June  next."  "  On  Friday,  the  26th,  a  motion 
was  made  by  Mr.  Randolph,  and  seconded,  that  the  House  do  come  to  the  following  reso 
lution  : 

"Resolved,  That  the  promptitude  and  frankness  with  which  the  President  of  the  United 
States  has  met  the  overtures  of  the  government  of  Great  Britain  towards  a  restoration 
of  harmony  and  a  free  commercial  intercourse  between  the  two  nations,  receives  the 
approbation  of  this  House."  Reports  Journal,  1  Sess.  11  Congress,  page  35. 

[Here  is,  I  presume,  another  proof  of  Mr.  Randolph's  opposition  to  all  administration, 
right  or  wrong.] 

Mr.  Ezekiel  Bacon,  of  Massachusetts,  moved  to  amend  (in  order  to  defeat  it),  and  Mr. 
John  G.  Jackson,  of  Virginia,  moved  the  indefinite  postponement  of  both  the  resolution 
and  amendment.  It  is  curious  to  pursue  the  fate  of  this  resolution  through  pages  39, 
•when  the  House  refused  to  resume  the  consideration  of  the  unfinished  business  (which 
was  Mr.  Randolph's  resolution) — pages  44,  45,46 — when  the  consideration  of  the  resolu 
tion  was  carried  by  yeas  66,  against  nays  61  (a  lean  majority!) — all  the  decided  friends  of 
the  administration  voting  in  the  minority,  among  them  connexions  of  Mr.  Madison  him 
self—  e.  g.  John  G.  Jackson,  Richard  Cutts,  who  were  nearly  connected  with  him  by 
marriage.  See  further,  pages  48,  49,  54,  when  the  motion  for  indefinite  postponement 
being  withdrawn  by  Mr.  Jackson,  was  renewed  by  another  member — pages  62,  63 — when 
(May  31st)  the  resolution  received  the  go-by  by  an  adjournment. 

When  Mr.  Randolph  was  asked  by  the  late  Mr.  Bayard  and  some  other  friend  "What 
he  thought  of  the  state  of  things  ?"  He  replied  that  '•  we  must  have  war  with  England." 
"  With  France  you  mean,"  said  they.  (For  then  our  interdict — taken  off  England — was 
in  force  against  France.)  "  No,  with  England.  The  vote  of  the  House  of  Representa 
tives,  on  the  motion  to  approve  the  conduct  of  the  President,  assures  me  of  that  fact." 
And  accordingly  he  wrote  to  his  correspondent  in  Virginia  to  the  same  effect. 

The  embargo  struck  the  first  staggering  blow  on  our  agriculture,  and  scuttled  our  ships. 


304  APPENDIX. 

Some  allusion  has  been  made  to  the  discordant  materials  of  the  present 
opposition.  They  are  somewhat  discordant — at  least  they  have  been  so. 
But  are  they  more  so  than  the  adherents  of  the  present  administration,  or 
the  materials  of  the  administration  itself?  I  well  remember  almost  the 
first  propitiation  (the  first  was  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus)  which  he  who  is 
now  the  President  of  the  United  States  made  to  Mr.  Jefferson  and  his 
party.  It  was  an  attempt  to  run  down  the  present  chief  justice.  The 
right  of  John  Smith  to  a  seat  in  the  Senate  was  made  the  peg  to  hang  it 
on.  I  will  tell  the  gentleman  the  whole  reason  why  I  have  opposed  the 
administration  since  that  time,  and  may  again,  if,  according  to  my  judg 
ment,  they  shall  not  consult  the  good  of  the  country.  It  is,  Sir,  simply 
because  I  am  for  the  interests  of  the  stockholders — of  whom  I  am  one — 
as  opposed  to  those  of  the  President,  Directors,  and  Cashiers;  and  I  have 
the  right  of  speaking  my  opinion,  and  shall  exercise  it,  though  it  happen 
to  be  against  the  greatest  and  proudest  names. 

Sir,  I  am  no  judge  of  human  motives :  that  is  the  attribute  of  the  name 
which  I  will  not  take  in  vain — the  attribute  of  Him  who  rules  in  heaven, 
or  who  becomes  incarnate  upon  earth :  motives  free  from  alloy  belonged 
to  that  Divine  incarnation,  and  to  Him  only,  of  all  that  have  borne  the 
form  of  man.  Mere  man  can  claim  no  such  exemption. 

I  do  not  pretend  that  my  own  motives  do  not  partake  of  their  full  share 
of  the  infirmity  of  our  common  nature — but,  of  those  infirmities,  neither 
avarice  nor  ambition  form  one  iota  in  the  composition  of  my  present  mo 
tives.  Sir,  what  can  the  country  do  for  me?  Poor  as  I  am — for  I  am 

The  landed  and  navigating  interests  have  never  recovered  from  it.  It  is  the  nidus*  of 
the  manufacturing  system  and  policy— fostered  since  by  the  war  by  double  duties  and  by 
tariffs.  What  bounty  on  manufactures  does  the  Ilarrisburg  Convention  propose  that  is 
equal  to  a  total  prohibition  of  exports? 

*The  hot-bed  rather,  and  the  fnmes  too.  Virginia  may  thank  herself.  She  is  the 
author  of  her  own  undoing.  Mercantile  clamor  induced  her  in  an  evil  hour  to  com 
mence  the  restrictive  system.  She  laid  embargoes,  and  at  length  made  war  for  "Free 
Trade  and  Sailors'  Rights."  Ctii  bono  ?  The  Hartford  nation,  as  Mr.  J.,  their  greatest, 
although  unintentional  benefactor,  denominated  them.  We  took  the  credit,  they  the  cash. 

"  Which  had  the  better  bargain  ?"    "  Honest  Congreve  is  a  man  after  my  own  heart." 

The  Hartford  nation  may  sing  now  to  au  old  tune — 
"  Populus  me  sibilat  at  mihi  plaudo 
Jpse  domi,  simul  ac  nummos  contemplor  in  area." 

General  reflections  are  always  unjust,  and  therefore  unwise.  Mr.  Randolph  greatly  re 
spects  many  New  England  men,  and  many  points  in  the  New  England  character.  He 
regrets  the  change  at  home,  as  well  as  there,  from  the  original  distinctive  marks  of  the 
cavalier  and  the  covenanter.  New  England  has  no  longer  her  Samuel  Adamses  and  her 
Roger  Shermans.  Virginia  also  seeks  in  vain  for  her  Washingtons,  and  Randolphs,  and 
Elands,  and  Lees,  and  Nelsons,  and  Henrys.  But,  at  the  worst,  the  character  of  a  miser 
is  far  preferable  to  that  of  a  spendthrift.  Even  the  cheat  is  not  more  contemptible  than 
the  bubble. 


APPENDIX.  305 

much  poorer  than  I  have  been — impoverished  by  unwise  legislation — I 
still  have  nearly  as  much  as  I  know  how  to  use — more  certainly  than  I 
have  at  all  times  made  a  good  use  of — and  as  for  power  what  charm  can 
it  have  for  one  like  me?  If  power  had  been  my  object,  I  must  have  been 
less  sagacious  than  my  worst  enemies  have  represented  me  to  be  (unless, 
indeed,  those  who  would  have  kindly  shut  me  up  in  bedlam)  if  I  had  not 
obtained  it.  I  may  appeal  to  all  my  friends  to  say  whether  "there  have 
"  not  been  times  when  I  stood  in  such  favor  in  the  closet  that  there  must 
"  have  been  something  very  extravagant  and  unreasonable  in  my  wishes  if 
"they  might  not  all  have  been  gratified."  Was  it  office?  What,  sir,  to 
drudge  in  your  laboratories  in  the  departments,  or  be  at  the  tail  of  the 
corps  diplomatique  in  Europe?  Alas!  sir,  in  my  condition  a  cup  of  cold 
water  would  be  more  acceptable.  What  can  the  country  give  me  that  I 
do  not  possess  in  the  confidence  of  such  constituents  as  no  man  ever  had 
before?  I  can  retire  to  my  old  patrimonial  trees,  where  I  may  see  the  sun 
rise  and  set  in  peace.  Sir,  as  I  was  returning  the  other  evening  from  the 
capitol,  I  saw — what  has  been  a  rare  sight  here  this  winter — the  sun  dip 
ping  his  broad  disk  among  the  trees  behind  those  Virginia  hills,  not  allay 
ing  his  glowing  axle  in  the  steep  Atlantic  stream;  and  I  asked  myself  if, 
with  this  Book  of  Nature  unrolled  before  me,  *  I  was  not  the  most  foolish 
of  men  to  be  struggling  and  scuffling  here  in  this  heated  and  impure  at 
mosphere,  where  the  play  is  not  worth  the  candle?  But  then  the  truth 
rushed  upon  my  mind  that  I  was  vainly  perhaps,  but  honestly,  striving  to 
uphold  the  liberties  of  the  people  who  sent  me  here — yes,  sir,  for  can 
those  liberties  coexist  with  corruption  ?  At  the  very  worst  the  question 
recurs, — Which  will  the  more  effectually  destroy  them  ? — collusion,  bar 
gain  and  corruption  here,  or  a  military  despotism?  When  can  that  be 
established  over  us?  Never,  till  the  Congress  has  become  odious  and 
contemptible  in  the  eyes  of  the  people.  I  have  learned,  from  the  highest ' 


0  how  canst  them  renounce  the  boundless  store 
Of  charms  which  Nature  to  her  votary  yields! 
The  warbling  woodland,  the  resounding  shore, 
The  pomp  of  groves  and  garniture  of  fields, 
All  that  the  genial  ray  of  Morning  gilds, 
And  all  that  echoes  to  the  song  of  Even, 
All  that  the  mountain's  sheltering  bosom  shields, 
And  all  the  dread  magnificence  of  heaven, 

0  how  canst  thou  renounce  and  hope  to  be  forgiven?" 
20 


306  APPENDIX. 

of  all  authority,  that  the  first  step  towards  putting  on  incorruption  is  the 
putting  off  corruption.  That  recollection  nerves  me  in  the  present  conflict, 
for  I  know,  that  if  we  are  successful,  I  shall  hold  over  the  head  of  those 
who  shall  succeed  the  present  incumbent  a  rod  which  they  will  not  dare, 
even  if  they  had  the  inclination,  to  disobey.  They  will  tremble  at  the 
punishment  of  their  predecessors.  Sir,  if  we  succeed,  we  shall  restore 
the  constitution — we  shall  redress  the  injury  done  to  the  people — we  shall 
regenerate  the  country.  If  the  administration  which  ensues  shall  be  as 
bad  as  the  character  of  the  opposing  candidate  [General  Jackson]  is  rep 
resented  by  his  bitterest  foes  to  be,  still  I  had  rather  it  were  in  the  seat  of 
power  than  the  present  dynasty,  because  it  will  have  been  fairly  elected. 
The  fountain  of  its  authority  will  not  be  poisoned  at  the  source.  But  if 
we  perish  under  the  spasmodic  struggles  of  those  now  in  power  to  rein 
state  themselves  on  the  throne,  our  fate  will  be  a  sacred  one — and  who 
would  wish  to  survive  it  ?  There  will  be  nothing  left  in  the  country  worth 
any  man's  possession.  If  after  such  an  appeal  has  been  made  to  the  peo 
ple,  and  a  majority  has  been  brought  into  this  and  the  other  House  of 
Congress,  this  administration  shall  be  able  to  triumph,  it  will  prove  that 
there  is  a  rottenness  in  our  institutions  which  ought  to  render  them  un 
worthy  of  any  man's  regard.  Sir,  my  "church-yard  cough"  gives  me 
the  solemn  warning,  that  whatever  part  I  shall  take  in  the  chase  I  may 
fail  of  being  in  at  the  death.  I  should  think  myself  the  basest  and  the 
meanest  of  men — I  care  not  what  the  opinion  of  the  world  might  be — I 
should  know  myself  to  be  a  scoundrel,  and  should  not  care  who  else 
knew  it — if  I  could  permit  any  motive,  connected  with  division  of  th,e 
spoil,  to  mingle  in  this  matter  with  my  poor  but  best  exertions  for  the  wel 
fare  of  my  country.  If  gentlemen  suppose  that  I  am  giving  pledges  they 
are  mistaken — I  give  none — they  are  entitled  to  none — and  I  give  none. 
I  shall  retire  upon  my  resources — I  will  go  back  to  the  bosom  of  my  con 
stituents — to  such  constituents  as  man  never  had  before,  and  never  will 
have  again — and  I  shall  receive  from  them  the  only  reward  that  I  ever 
looked  for,  but  the  highest  that  man  can  receive — the  universal  expression 
of  their  approbation — of  their  thanks.  I  shall  read  it  in  their  beaming 
faces — I  shall  feel  it  in  their  gratulating  hands.  The  very  children  will 
climb  around  my  knees  to  welcome  me.  And  shall  I  give  up  them  and 
this  ?  And  for  what  ?  For  the  heartless  amusements  and  vapid  pleasures 
and  tarnished  honors  of  this  abode  of  splendid  misery,  of  shabby  splen 
dor,  for  a  clerkship  in  the  War  Office,  or  a  foreign  missson,  to  dance 


APPENDIX.  307 

attendance  abroad  instead  of  at  home,  or  even  for  a  department  itself?  Sir, 
thirty  years  make  sad  changes  in  man.  When  I  first  was  honored  with  their 
confidence  I  was  a  very  young  man,  and  my  constituents  stood  almost  in 
parental  relation  to  me,  and  I  received  from  them  the  indulgence  of  a  be 
loved  son.  But  the  old  patriarchs  of  that  day  have  been  gathered  to  their 
fathers;  some  adults  remain,  whom  I  look  upon  as  my  brethren  :  but  the  far 
greater  part  were  children — little  children — or  have  come  into  the  world 
since  my  public  life  began.  I  know  among  them  grandfathers,  and  men 
muster- free,  who  were  boys  at  school  when  I  first  took  my  seat  in  Con 
gress.  Time,  the  mighty  reformer  and  innovator,  has  silently  and  slowly, 
but  surely,  changed  the  relation  between  us ;  and  I  now  stand  to  them  in 
loco  parentis — in  the  place  of  a  father — and  receive  from  them  a  truly 
filial  reverence  and  regard.  Yes,  sir,  they  are  my  children — who  resent, 
with  the  quick  love  of  children,  all  my  wrongs,  real  or  supposed.  Shall 
I  not  invoke  the  blessings  of  a  common  Father  upon  them  ?  Shall  I  deem 
any  sacrifice  too  great  for  them?  To  them  I  shall  return,  if  we  are  de 
feated,  for  all  the  consolation  that  awaits  me  on  this  side  of  the  grave.  I 
feel  that  I  hang  to  existence  but  by  a  single  hair — that  the  sword  of 
Damocles  is  suspended  over  me. 

If  we  succeed,  we  shall  have  given  a  new  lease  to  the  life  of  the  con 
stitution.  But  should  we  fail,  I  warn  gentlemen  not  to  pour  out  their 
regrets  on  General  Jackson.  He  will  be  the  first  to  disdain  them.  The 
object  of  our  cause  has  been,  not  so  much  to  raise  Andrew  Jackson  to  the 
Presidency — be  his  merits  what  they  may — as  the  signal  and  condign  pun 
ishment  of  those  public  servants  on  whom,  if  they  be  not  guilty,  the 
strongest  suspicion  of  guilt  must  ever  justly  rest. 


308  APPENDIX. 


NOTES. 


NOTE  A,  PAGE  279. — It  would  be  matter  of  curious  inquiry  to  ascertain 
how  it  has  come  to  pass  that  in  proportion  as  we  in  Virginia  have  pro 
scribed  or  abandoned  the  cheerful  exercises  and  amusements  of  our  fathers, 
we  have  become  less  amiable  and  moral  as  a  people.  When  I  was  a  young 
man,  no  gentleman  was  ashamed  of  playing  a  game  of  billiards  or  of  cards. 
There  was  much  less  gaming  then  than  now.  Men  then  drank  and  played 
in  public,  from  a  spirit  of  society,  as  well  as  the  love  for  both  inherent  in 
human  nature.  Publicity  is  the  great  restraint  upon  individuals  as  well  as 
government.  The  "hells"  of  London  and  the  styes  of  Caprese  and  the 
Pare  aux  Cerfs  attest  this.  Publicity  represses  excess,  until  the  man  is 
sunk  in  the  beast  and  every  restraint  of  shame  thrown  off.  Formerly, 
friends  had  it  in  their  power  to  restrain  the  votaries  of  chance  or  of  the 
bottle;  but  now  their  incurable  ruin,  in  mind,  body  and  estate,  gives  the 
first  notice  of  their  devotion  to  play  or  drink.  Solitary  intoxication  on 
ardent  spirits  is  the  substitute  for  the  wine  table;  and  in  some  den  of 
thieves,  some  cellar  or  some  garret,  the  unhappy  youth  is  stripped  of  his 
property,  with  no  witness  of  the  fairness  of  the  game  but  his  desperate 
and  profligate  undoers. 

In  Virginia  we  are,  and  I  trust  shall  ever  be,  alive  to  States  rights.  But 
have  the  people  no  rights  as  against  the  Assembly  ?  All  oppression  com 
mences  under  specious  pretexts.  I  have  wondered  that  no  rural,  or  rather 
rustic,  Hampden  has  been  found  to  withstand  the  petty  tyranny  which  has 
as  good  a  right  to  take  away  his  wife's  looking-glass  or  frying  pan  as  his 
billiard  table.  By  what  authority  is  this  thing  done?  Under  color  of 
law,  I  know,  but  a  law  in  the  teeth  of  all  the  principles  of  free  govern 
ment. 

The  principle  of  what  is  called  the  dueling  law — it  ought  to  be  called 
the  perjury  law — is  yet  more  detestable.  I  am  no  advocate  of  dueling; 
but  it  may  be  put  down  by  something  worse.  Bad  as  it  is,  it  is  better  than 
dirking  and  gouging ;  and  they  are  hardly  worse  than  calling  names  and 
bandying  insults,  if  so  bad.  The  oath  prescribed  by  the  dueling  law  is  in 


APPENDIX.  309 

the  teeth  of  every  principle  of  free  government,  of  the  act  for  establishing 
religious  freedom,  and  would  justify  any  test,  religious  or  political,  even 
an  oath  of  belief  in  transubstatiation. 

We  were  a  merry-making,  kind-hearted,  hospitable  people,  fond  of 
** JtmJkttftHf"  (as  the  old  President  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  used  to  say); 
and  no  one,  as  the  men  of  Caroline  county  and  Essex  can  testify,  liked 
"junketting"  ("soberly?'  as  Lady  Grace  says,)  better  than  Edmund  Pen- 
dleton.  Yes,  the  Mansfield  of  Virginia,  whom  he  resembled  in  the  pol 
ished  suavity  of  his  manners,  his  unrivalled  professional  learning  and 
abilities,  and  the  retention  of  his  faculties  unimpaired  to  a  very  advanced 
old  age.  There  is  another  splendid  example  of  the  same  rare  qualities  in 
the  first  judicial  officer  of  the  United  States.  Who  is  fonder  of  a  game  of 
billiards,  or  any  other  innocent  amusement,  than  the  Chief  Justice  ?  Yes, 
I  regret,  nay,  deplore,  the  change  from  our  old  and  innocent  pastimes  and 
holidays  to  the  present  state  of  listless  ennui  or  prowling  rapacity.  In 
proportion  as  we  have  approached  puritanical  preciseness  [and  gloomy 
austerity,  so  have  we  retrograded  in  morals. 

I  do  not  indeed  carry  the  matter  quite  so  far  as  an  acquaintance  of  mine, 
who  has  a  knack  of  "hitching  into  rhyme,"  and  who,  among  other  good 

advice,  says  : 

*,***•*• 

"  Hence,  if  you  have  a  son,  I  would  advise, 
(Lest  his  fair  prospects  you,  perchance,  may  spoil) 
If  you  would  wish  him  in  the  State  to  rise, 
Instead  of  GROTIUS,  let  him  study  HOYLE. 
And  if  his  native  genius  should  betray 
A  turn  for  petty  tricks,  indulge  the  bent; 
It  may  do  service  at  some  future  day ; 
A  dextrous  CUT  may  rule  a  great  event, 
And  a  stock'd  PACK  may  make  a  President." 

NOTE  B,  PAGE  287. — After  my  arrival  in  Europe,  I  saw  in  the  newspa 
pers  Mr.  Webster's,  toast,  given,  if  I  forget  not,  on  the  fourth  of  July — 
"  Henry  Clay,  the  orator  of  the  West,"  &c.,  &c.  I  quote  from  memory. 
N.  B. — Mr.  Clay  was  then  the  rival'  and  declared  enemy  of  Mr.  Adams. 
Mr.  Clay,  in  the  debate  on  the  Greek  motion  of  Mr.  Webster,  and  in  the 
affair  of  Mr.  Ichabod  Bartlett  (a  name  of  omen),  was  ostentatious  in  his  dec 
larations  of  friendship  and  connection  with  Mr.  Webster,  whom  he  gratui 
tously  assumed  to  have  been  assailed  by  the  said  Ichabod !  that  he  might 
manifest  his  devotion  to  his  new  friend.  I  then  looked  upon  Mr.  Clay  as 


310  APPENDIX. 

laying  an  anchor  to  windward  and  eastward,  and  in  fact  offering  his  blan 
dishment  to  New  England  in  the  person  of  Mr.  Webster,  while  at  the 
same  time  he  proclaimed  his  strength  in  that  quarter  as  the  ally  of  Mr. 
Webster  and  the  powerful  party  of  which  he  is  the  leader  and  mouth 
piece.  If  the  maxim  be  true,  ars  est  celare  artem,  then  there  lives  not  a 
less  artful  man  upon  earth  than  Mr.  Clay.  His  system  consists  in  soothing 
by  flattery,  or  bullying — these  constitute  his  whole  stock  in  trade — and 
very  often  he  applies  both  to  the  same  person.  The  man  of  delicacy,  to 
whom  his  coarse  adulation  is  fulsome,  and  the  man  of  unshaken  firmness, 
when  these  two  characteristics  unite  in  the  same  person,  cannot  be  ope 
rated  on  by  him. 

Mr.  Webster  and  the  rival  of  Chilly  Mclntosh  were  put  on  the  A.  B. 
Committee  to  run  down  Mr.  Crawford.  I  too,  though  in  Baltimore  when 
Mr.  Floyd  (my  colleague)  moved  to  raise  that  committee,  was  put  upon 
it.  I  was  not  then  the  political  friend  or  supporter  of  Mr.  Crawford.  His 
political  principles,  on  the  United  States  Bank  and  some  other  questions, 
were  to  mine  nearly,  although  not  quite,  as  obnoxious  as  those  of  his 
competitors.  I  never  took  sides  with  him  until  he  was  persecuted.  Mr. 
Macon  and  Mr.  Floyd  both  know  that,  on  my  arrival  from  Baltimore,  I 
peremptorily  declared  that  I  would  not  serve  on  that  committee.  I  be 
lieved  it  to  be  (as  it  was)  a  snare  for  me — a  snare  from  which  I  provi 
dentially  escaped.  Mr.  Webster's  true  character  first  developed  itself  to 
me  then,  as  at  the  time  1  told  Mr.  Tazewell.  At  the  earnest  persuasion  of 
Mr.  Macon  and  entreaty  of  Mr.  Floyd,  I  reluctantly  agreed  to  serve.  Mr. 
Floyd  being  taken  violently  ill  and  confined  to  his  bed,  I  abandoned  my 
seat  in  the  committee  and  went  abroad  for  health. 

NOTE  C,  PAGE  294. — A  caterpillar  comes  to  a  fence;  he  crawls  to  the 
bottom  of  the  ditch  and  over  the  fence,  some  of  his  hundred  feet  always 
in  contact  with  the  subject  upon  which  he  moves.  A  gallant  horseman 
at  a  flying  leap  clears  both  ditch  and  fence.  "  Stop  !  "  says  the  caterpil 
lar,  "  you  are  too  flighty,  you  want  connection  and  continuity :  it  took  me 
an  hour  to  get  over;  you  can't  be  as  sure  as  I  am,  who  have  never  quitted 
the  subject,  that  you  have  overcome  the  difficulty  and  are  fairly  over  the 
fence."  "  Thou  miserable  reptile,"  replies  our  fox-hunter,  "  if,  like  you, 
I  crawled  over  the  earth  slowly  and  painfully,  should  I  ever  catch  a  fox,  or 
be  anything  more  than  a  wretched  caterpillar  ?  "  N.  B. — He  did  not  say, 
"  of  the  law." 


APPENDIX.  311 

NOTE  D,  PAGE  297. — Some  of  the  members  of  the  Richmond  Adams 
Convention  (I  like  to  call  things  by  their  right  names)  have  had,  I  am 
told,  the  modesty  to  say  that  "it  was  the  most  august  body  that  had  assem 
bled  since  the  Congress  that  declared  independence!  "  The  same  decla 
ration,  in  the  very  same  word?,  was  made  in  the  Senate,  concerning 
another  " august  body" — the  Hartford  Convention — by  Mr.  Otis,  a  mem 
ber  of  said  "  august  body." 

This  moderate  hyperbole,  I  suspect,  must  have  come  from  some  wise 
acre  south  of  Appomattox,  or  of  Roanoke,  who  was  at  once  his  own 
constituent  body  and  representative.  I  know  many  very  worthy  and  re 
spectable  members  of  the  "august  body" — two  of  them,  in  particular, 
excellent  and  sensible  men,  my  own  good  friends  and  constituents,  whose 
names,  I  own,  surprised  me  when  appended  to  such  a  manifesto.  Others, 
no  doubt,  are  equally  respectable.  But  what  shall  we  say — not  to  the 
Secretary — no,  it  is  needless  to  say  anything  of  him.  His  name,  associated 
with  that  of  Chapman  Johnson,  must  be  grateful  to  that  distinguished 
luminary  of  the  bar  and  of  Virginia.  In  our  part  of  the  country  we  still 
retain  the  old-fashioned  prejudice  against  the  three  degrees  of  borrowing, 
begging  and  stealing.  We  still  believe,  in  Charlotte  and  Prince  Edward, 
that  every  honest  man  pays  his  just  debts.  If  I  were  to  go  to  Oakland 
(where  I  hope  soon  to  be),  and  were  to  steal  one  of  my  friend  William  R. 
Johnson's  plough  horses,  value  perhaps  sixty  dollars,  I  should  subject  my 
self  to  the  penitentiary.  But  would  he  not  rather  be  robbed  of  a  work 
horse  than  that  any  man  should  buy  MEDLEY  or  SALLY  WALKER  of  him 
for  some  thousands  of  dollars  and  never  pay  him.  Suum  cuique  tribuito 
is  still  held  in  respect  with  us;  and  we  pay  small  deference  to  the  opinions 
of  judges,  even  in  the  last  resort,  whose  creditors  cry  aloud  in  vain  for 
justice  against  the  dispensers  of  justice — a  judge  who  finally  and  conclu 
sively  determines  between  meum  and  tuum,  who  possesses  nothing  suunt. 
If  we  do  have  a  convention,  I  trust  that  the  corrective  will  be  applied  to 
this  and  some  other  abuses  of  the  only  privileged  class  among  us. 

"  Some  are  born  great,  some  achieve  greatness,  and  some  have  greatness 
thrust  upon  them?"  and  this  last  has  been  the  good  luck  of  our  political 
Malvolio.  Like  Moliere's  Mock  Doctor,  the  Virginia  Assembly  (who 
make  towns  without  houses)  have  made  him  a  judge  in  spite  of  himself — 
Malgt  e  lui. 

His  worthy  elder  brother  stumbled  upon  his  office,  as  Falstaff  says 
Worcester  did  upon  rebellion:  "  It  lay  in  his  way,  and  he  found  it." 


312  APPENDIX. 

Some  men  should  bear  in  mind  the  advice  of  Junius  to  Sir  William 
Draper,  and  not  attract  the  public  attention  to  a  character  which  will  only 
pass  without  censure  when  it  passes  without  observation.  Qucedam  causes 
modestiam  desiderunt.  And  this  is  true  of  the  persons  of  certain  would-be 
leaders  in  the  cause  of  Coalition,  as  it  is  of  the  cause  itself.  What  busi 
ness  have  these  "most  forcible  Peebles"  in  the  van  of  election  battles? 
Who  gave  them  the  right  or  the  power  to  call  conventions,  forsooth,  and 
excommunicate  and  anathematize  their  betters,  in  every  point  of  view  that 
gives  value  to  the  character  of  man.  Let  them  stick  to  their  dull,  heavy, 
yet  light,  long-winded  opinions  in  the  Court  of  Appeals,  where  to  our 
sorrow  and  to  our  cost  they  may  play  "Sir  Oracle" — where,  when  they 
ope  their  lips  no  dog  must  bark — but  what  they  say  must  be  received  as 
law  in  the  last  resort — without  appeal.  No  bill  of  exceptions  can  be  ten 
dered  to  their  honors.  Yes,  let  them  keep  to  their  privileged  sanctuary. — 
For  if  these  men,  who  are  great  by  title  and  office  only,  shall  attempt  to 
interfere  between  men  at  arms,  let  me  tell  them  that  their  judicial  as 
trology  will  stand  them  in  little  stead :  "  There  is  no  Royal  road  to  the 
Mathematics:"  and  these  ex  officio  champions  will  fare  like  the  delicate 
patrician  troops  of  Pompey  at  the  battle  of  Pharsalia.  The  Tenth  Legion 
will  aim  at  their  faces — and  our  fair-weather  knights  must  expect  to  meet 
with  cracked  crowns  and  bloody  noses,  and  to  staunch  them  as  they  may. 

"But  have  you  no  respect  for  the  ermine?"  Yes,  as  I  have  for  the 
lion's  skin,  but  none  at  all  for  the  ass  beneath  it.  I  was  bred  in  a  respect 
for  the  ermine,  for  I  lived  when  Pendleton,  Blair  and  Wythe  composed 
the  "High  Court  of  Chancery"  in  Virginia.  Yes,  I  respect  the  pure 
ermine  of  justice,  when  it  is  worn  as  it  ought  to  be — and  as  it  is  by  the 
illustrious  judge  who  presides  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States, 
with  modest  dignity  and  unpretending  grace.  I  was  bred  in  a  respect  for 
it  approaching  to  religious  reverence.  But  it  is  the  unpolluted  ermine 
that  I  was  taught  to  venerate.  Daggled  in  the  vile  mire  of  an  election — 
reeking  in  the  fumes  of  whiskey  and  tobacco — it  is  an  object,  not  of  rev 
erence,  but  of  loathing  and  disgust.  "A  parson  may  not"  (say  the  canons 
of  many  churches)  "use  himself  as  a  layman."  And  a  judge  is,  so  to 
speak,  a  lay  parson.  He  should  keep  himself,  emphatically,  "unspotted 
from  the  world."  A  judge  has  political  rights  as  well  as  a  juror.  God 
forbid  that  I  should  deny  or  suppress  their  exercise.  It  is  the  mode  of 
exercise  that  I  object  to,  as  unbecoming,  not  to  say  indecent. 

We  have  no  faith,  on  the  south  side  of  James  river,  in  the  president 


APPENDIX.  313 

who  called  or  him  who  presided  over  the  Richmond  Adams  convention — 
the  successor,  in  form,  of  Pendleton  and  Spencer  Roane.  Lichas  wield 
ing  the  club  of  Hercules.  A  man  who  does  not  endeavor  to  make  up  by 
assiduity  and  study  for  the  slenderness  of  his  capacity  and  his  utter  want 
of  professional  learning. 

They  were  so  heartily  ashamed  of  their  president  or  secretary,  per 
haps  of  both,  that  their  manifesto  is  sent  forth  to  the  world  in  a  pamphlet, 
unattested  by  the  signature  of  either.  It  is  without  teste ;  and,  notwith 
standing  the  caption,  may  be  said  to  be  anonymous.  The  want  of  such 
signatures  detracts  nothing  from  its  weight  or  value. 

But  let  us  see  the  honorable  means  resorted  to  by  these  High  Priests  of 
Themis,  to  forward  their  unholy  conspiracy  against  the  South;  Virginia 
in  particular.  Without  paying  the  ex-Presidents  the  respect  of  presuming 
them  to  be  observant  of  that  reserve  imposed  upon  them  by  their  position, 
and  which,  of  all  our  Presidents,  one  only  has  violated — Mr.  Adams, 
senior;  or  of  consulting  them,  the  names  of  Mr.  Madison  and  Mr.  Mon 
roe  are  ostentatiously  stuck  up  at  the  head  of  their  ticket.  They  knew 
that  these  gentlemen  could  not,  with  any  sense  of  propriety  or  decorum, 
accept  or  decline  the  proffered  honor,  until  officially  notified  of  the  pro 
ceedings  by  the  president  of  the  Adams  convention. 

This  notification  was  held  back  nearly  one  month  by  the  president  of 
the  Adams,  alias  "Anti-Jackson,"  convention  (who,  to  our  misfortune,  is 
also  president  of  the  High  Court  of  Errors  and  Appeals),  upon  a  pretext 
at  once  frivolous  and  false.  This  trick  of  the  highest  judicial  officer  in 
Virginia,  played  off  to  effect  public  opinion,  and  the  Vermont  and  New 
Hampshire  elections  especially,  was  worthy  of  a  Newgate  solicitor.  It 
was  done  to  affect  public  opinion,  and  especially  the  New  Hampshire 
election.  How  short-sighted  is  fraud  and  falsehood  and  folly.  They  did 
not  reflect  upon  the  reaction  when  the  trick  could  be  no  longer  concealed. 

"  There  is  a  tide  in  the  affairs  of  men, 
Which,  taken  at  the  flood,  leads  to  Fortune." 

Mr.  C.  is  as  strong  an  instance  of  this  as  Shakspeare  himself  could  have 
adduced.  Hardly  a  second  rate  lawyer  at  the  county  court  bar  of  Amherst 
and  Buckingham,  sheer  accident  made  him  governor  of  Virginia.  Hap 
pening  then  to  be  a  member  of  the  Assembly  [when  a  very  obnoxious 
character  was  held  up  for  the  office] — possessing  good  temper  and  amiable 
manners,  and  most  respectable  and  powerful  connections — the  untying  of 


314  APPENDIX. 

a  member's  shoe  caused  him  to  be  pitched  upon  to  keep  out  the  only  can 
didate.  With  that  exception,  the  office  was  going  a-begging.  Conducting 
himself  most  unexceptionally  and  inoffensively  as  governor,  he  had  a 
county,*  and  one  of  the  finest,  too,  in  the  State,  named  after  him,  and  was 
advanced  to  the  Court  of  Appeals,  of  which  he  bids  fair  to  be  president; 
a  court  in  which,  if  he  had  remained  at  the  bar,  he  most  probably  would 
never  have  obtained  a  brief. 

My  venerable  friend,  Mr.  Macon,  has  more  than  once  observed  to  me, 
that,  with  the  exception  of  North  Carolina,  no  state,  not  even  Virginia, 
had  named  a  county  after  or  done  honor  to  the  president  of  the  first  Con 
gress,  who,  if  he  had  lived,  and  the  day  had  gone  against  us,  would,  with 
another  Virginian,  have  been  singled  out  as  the  ringleaders  of  the  REBEL 
LION,  and  made  examples  of,  accordingly,  in  terrorem  of  all  future  of 
fenders. 

I  have  seen  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  the  court  of  Common  Pleas,  Sir 
William  Draper  Best  and  Sir  John  Bayley  (both  very  infirm  men)  sit,  day 
after  day,  the  one  at  Nisi  Prius,  and  the  other  on  the  Crown  side,  from 
nine  in  the  morning  until  five  in  the  afternoon,  and  despatch  more  busi 
ness  in  one  day,  than  any  of  our  courts  in  Virginia  transact  in  a  week.  I 
have  seen  a  judge  in  Guildhall  sitting  in  court  with  his  teapot  and  bread 
and  butter  before  him,  taking  his  breakfast  while  counsel  were  pleading, 
that  business  might  not  be  delayed.  The  judges  in  England  (there  are 
but  thirteen  for  that  great  kingdom,  where  each  of  three  counties  that  I 
could  name  contain  more  white  people,  and  incomparably  more  wealth, 
than  our  poor  Old  Dominion)  work  harder  and  are  worse  paid  than  any 
other  officers  of  that  government. 

How  is  it  with  us  in  Virginia?  We  find  men  anxious  enough  to  get 
the  appointment — but  are  they  (in  the  general)  as  anxious  to  discharge  the 
duties — to  earn  the  salary  as  to  draw  it?  There  are,  no  doubt,  and  to  my 
personal  Jcnowledge,  honorable  exceptions;  but  are  there  not  too  many 
instances  in  which  very  insufficient  causes  are  laid  hold  on  to  excuse  the 
judge  from  holding  his  court,  and  for  breaking  it  up  and  going  home,  to 
the  delay  of  justice  and  the  harassment  and  expense  of  counsel,  suitors 
and  witnesses?  Is  not  this  a  crying  evil?  And  if  the  tenure  by  which 
judges  hold  in  Virginia  be  changed,  will  it  not  be  owing  to  their  own  neg- 

*  If  it  had  been  called  after  his  uncle,  old  Colonel  Will.  Cabell,  of  Union  Hill,  all  would 
have  cried,  Well  done !  Posterity,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  will  know  no  better. 


APPENDIX.  315- 

ligence  and  misconduct?  In  England,  where  two  counties  of  the  northern 
circuit  (York  and  Lancaster)  contain  more  than  two  millions  of  inhabit 
ants,  and  vastly  more  wealth  than  the  kingdom  of  Prussia,  such  neglect  of 
duty  as  occurs  every  day  in  Virginia  would  not  be  tolerated  for  one  half 
year.  "  To  delay  justice  to  no  one,"  and  "to  be  unwilling  to  change  the 
laws  of  England  ;"  these  are  the  oath  and  declaration  of  the  ancient 
.Kings  and  Barons  of  England.*  But  we  seem  to  be  guided  by  maxims 
the  very  reverse  of  these. 

As  to  the  laws,  they  are  so  often  chopped  and  changed  that  we  never 
have  time  to  find  out  what  the  existing  law  is — much  less  to  have  it  settled 
in  the  only  way  that  it  can  be  settled — by  adjudication.  Much  of  this  evil 
has  proceeded  from  the  Senate,  at  the  instance  of  the  author  of  the  Rich 
mond  Adams  manifesto.  I  have  seen  Sir  John  Bayley  try  some  six  or 
eight  criminals  in  one  day,  that  here  would  consume  the  time  allotted  for 
one,  or  more  than  one,  superior  court.  It  is  true  there  lawyers  are  only 
admitted  to  crossexamine  the  witnesses,  and  are  not  suffered  to  take  up  a 
day  in  frothy  declamation  to  mislead  the  jury.  But  I  can  conceive  of  no 
form  of  trial  more  fair  than  that  in  England ;  and  the  summing  up  of-  Sir 


*  It  is  impossible,  even  at  this  day,  to  read  the  ancient  evidences  of  our  liberties,  with 
out  a  throb  of  gratitude  to  those  brave  men  who  extorted  their  acknowledgment  not  only 
from  such  weak  and  worthless  princes  as  John  and  Henry  the  III,  but  obtained  their  con 
firmation  by  Edward  the  I,  the  Justinian  of  England,  a  warlike  monarch,  and  perhaps 
the  most  sagacious  and  powerful  of  all  that  wondrous  race  of  kings — the  Plantagenets. 

"  Nullus  liber  homo  caplatur  vel  imprison etur  aut  disseisiatur  de  libero  tenemento  suo, 
vel  libertatibus  vel  liberis  consuetudinibus  suis,  aut  utlagetur,  aut  exulet,  aut  aliquo  modo 
destruatur,  nee  super  eum  ibimus,  nee  super  eum  mittemus,  nisi  per  legale  judicium  parium 
suorum,  velper  legem  terre.  Nulli  vendemus,  nulli  negabimus  aut  differemus  rectum  vel 
justitiam.'"— MAGNA  CHARTA,  confirmed  25  EDW.  I. 

No  free  man  shall  be  taken  or  imprisoned,  or  be  disseised  of  his  freehold,  or  liberties,  or 
free  customs,  or  be  outlawed,  or  exiled,  or  any  otherwise  destroyed  ;  nor  we  will  not  pass 
upon  him,  nor  condemn  him,  but  by  lawful  judgment  of  his  peers,  or  by  the  law  of  the 
land.  We  will  sell  to  no  man,  we  will  not  deny  or  defer  to  any  man  either  justice  or 
right. 

They  put  the  denial  and  delay  of  justice  on  the  same  foot. 

Well  might  Lord  Chatham,  in  tie  greatest  of  all  his  incomparable  speeches,  say  of  these 
precious  words,  couched  in  "the  rude  and  simple  Latin  of  the  times,"  that  they  were 
"  worth  all  the  classics  !" — "  Nolumus  leges  Angliie  mutari." — "  We  are  unwilling  that  tha 
laws  of  England  be  changed,"  was  the  answer  of  those  "Iron  Barons"  to  the  Sovereign 
who  wished  to  introduce  the  Salic  law  of  the  continent  in  lieu  of  the  English  law  of 
descents.  This  change  would  have  deprived  England  of  two  of  her  most  glorious  reigns — 
those  of  Elizabeth  and  Anne. 


316  APPENDIX. 

John  Bayley  (who  is,  indeed,  counsel  for  the  accused)  is  the  most  perfect 
specimen  of  fairness  and  clearness  and  conciseness  that  I  have  ever  heard 
or  can  conceive.  He  never  omits  the  most  minute  circumstance  that  makes 
for  or  against  the  prisoner;  and  without  showing  the  least  bias  either  way, 
he  never  fails  to  tell  the  jury  that  "  if,  upon  the  whole,  they  doubt,  the 
accused  is  entitled  to  the  benefit  of  that  doubt."  I  cannot  go  so  far  as  an 
Irish  gentleman,  whom  I  heard  (humorously)  say  at  Norwich  assizes, 
"  that  it  must  be  a  pleasure  to  be  hanged  by  Sir  John  Bayley;"  but  I  take 
a  pleasure,  and  a  pride  too,  in  here  naming  the  honor  that  I  received  in 
his  acquaintance,  and  that  of  Lord  Chief  Justice  Best,  and  the  very  kind 
attentions  and  hospitality  by  which  I  was  distinguished  by  both  of  them, 
the  last  more  especially. 

The  trials  that  I  speak  of  were  ordinary  cases,  civil  and  criminal;  not 
cases  of  libel  and  treason — of  political  law.  In  England,  as  in  other  coun 
tries,  not  excepting  Virginia,  I  fear  that  there  is  always  a  leaning  on  the 
side  of  the  bench  to  POWER,  in  whatever  hands  it  may  be  placed. 

NOTE  E,  PAGE  300. — Mr.  Madison  (I  speak  it  without  the  slightest  dis 
respect  to  that  eminent  man)  is  a  still  stronger  case  in  point  than  Mr.  Pitt. 

Except  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Mr.  Jay,*  as  Secretary  of  State,  he  had  not 
perhaps  his  equal  in  our  country — his  superior  nowhere — a  profound 
thinker,  a  powerful  reasoner,  "  with  tongue  or  pen" — a  great  civilian,  re 
minding  one  of  his  prototype,  John  Selden;  to  whose  "  MARE  CLAUSUM" 
no  man  was  better  fitted  than  Mr.  Madison  to  have  opposed  a  MARE  LIBE- 
RUM.  Yet,  advanced  to  the  helm  of  affairs,  how  consummate  his  igno 
rance  of  men,  let  his  selections  for  great  offices,  civil  and  military,  tell.  I 
will  enumerate  a  few  just  as  they  occur  to  me,  beginning  with  his  cabinet. 

Secretary  of  State — Robert  Smith. 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury — George  W.  Campbell ;  also  Minister  to  St. 
Petersburg. 

Secretary  of  War — Dr.  Eustis. 

Secretary  of  the  Navy — Paul  Hamilton  and  Benjamin  W.  Crownin- 
shield,  the  Master  Slender — no,  the  Master  Silence  of  Ministers  of  State. 


*  As  Mr.  Jay  is  mentioned,  I  cannot  omit  my  poor  tribute  to  the  example  of  consum 
mate  dignity  which  this  great  and  good  man  has  set  to  every  other  great  man  in  retire 
ment.  He  has  been  withdrawn  from  public  life  too  long  (yet  even  here  his  error  leans  to 
virtue's  side),  about  thirty  years.  Who  sees,  or  has  seen,  his  name  in  a  newspaper?  O  si 
sic  omnes  ! 


APPENDIX.  317 

Shakspeare  himself  could  go  no  lower.  It  is  the  thorough  base  of  human 
nature.  He  seems  to  us  to  have  drawn  Robert  Shallow,  Esquire,  and  his 
cousin  Slender,  as  the  comparative  and  superlative  degree  of  fatuity;  and 
when  we  believe  that  he  has  sounded  his  lowest  note,  as  if  reveling  in  the 
exuberance  of  his  power,  he  produces  Silence  as  the  ne  plus  ultra  of 
inanity  and  imbecility.  Mr.  Madison  has,  in  this  one  instance,  outdone 
Shakspeare  himself — he  gives  us  the  real  man  whom  the  bard  only  drew. 

Attorney  General — Richard  Rush ;  not  being  fit  for  Comptroller,  he  is 
selected  to  preside  over  the  treasury  !  and  by  the  Richmond  Adams  Con 
vention  for  Vice  President! 

Commander  in  the  Northwest — William  Hull. 

Commander  in  the  Northeast — James  Wilkinson  and  Wade  Hampton. 

Commander  at  Bladensburg — William  Winder !  assisted  by  "  The  Fly 
ing  Cabinent,"  as  Wilkinson  had  the  insolence  to  designate  them  in  his 
diagram  of  that  famous  rout.  In  this  memorable  disengagement  the 
GRAND  ROLE  was  played  by  Mr.  Attorney  General,  "for  that  time  only," 
without  his  hat.  We  have  no  "  Master  of  the  Rolls"  in  our  country;  but,, 
like  the  witty  authors  of  the  Rolliad,  for  Sir  Lloyd  Kenyon,  we  might  take 
as  a  motto  for  Mr.  Rush,  "  Jotiez  bien  votrerole"  And,  verily,  never  did 
political  adventurer  make  more  of  his  parts  than  this  solemn  gentleman 
has  done.  Never  were  abilities  so  much  below  mediocrity  so  well  re 
warded;  no,  not  when  Caligula's  Horse  was  made  Consul. 

A  few  days  ago  I  stumbled  upon  the  following  stanza  of  an  unfinished 
poem  on  the  Glories  and  Worthies  of  our  Administration : 

"And  as  for  R.,  his  early  locks  of  snow, 
Betray  the  frozen  region  that's  below. 
Though  Jove  upon  the  race  bestow'd  some  fire, 
The  gift  was  all  exhausted  by  the  sire. 
A  sage  consum'd  what  thousands  well  might  share, 
And  ASHES  !  only,  fell  upon  the  heir !" 

These  lines  are  the  only  article  of  the  growth,  produce  or  manufacture 
of  the  country  north  of  Patapsco,  that  I  have  knowingly  used  since  the 
Tariff  bill  passed.  They  are  by  a  witty  son  of  a  witty  sire — as  Burns 
sings,  "a  true  gude  fellow's  get." 

NOTE  F,  PAGE  301. — Mr.  Clay  took  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Represen 
tatives  in  December,  1811 ;  his  first  stride  was  from  the  door  to  the  chair,, 
where  he  commenced  to  play  the  dictator:  he  fixed  his  eyes  on  the  presi 
dency,  and  I,  who  had  been  twelve  years  in  Congress,  fixed  mine  upon. 


318  APPENDIX. 

him,  and  have  kept  them  there  ever  since.  Sylla  said  that  he  saw  many 
a  Marius  in  Caesar.  So  I,  who  had  heard  Mr.  Clay  for  the  first  time  in 
the  Senate  the  year  before,  on  the  renewal  of  the  charter  of  the  Bank  of 
the  United  States,  was  persuaded  that  he  would  not  keep  the  faith.  With 
out  affecting  an  inferiority  that  I  do  not  feel,  I  may  be  allowed  to  say,  that 
my  position  as  the  guardian  of  the  constitution  and  country,  against  the 
assaults  of  a  man  goaded  and  blinded  by  his  ambition,  would  have  placed 
a  dwarf  on  a  level  with  a  giant.  He  went  to  Europe,  and  returned  a 
changed  man. 

And  not  Mr.  Clay  only.  Mr.  Monroe,  the  stern  Mr.  Monroe,  for  whom 
General  Washington's  administration  was  not  Republican  enough,  comes 
back  after  four  years  spent  in  Paris,  Madrid,  and  London,  to  settle  points 
of  etiquette  and  invent  coat  patterns  for  our  foreign  ministers,  because, 
forsooth,  they  are  not  Franklin's.  (See  Mr.  Sergeant's  speech.)  So  that, 
like  the  king's  fool,  our  envoys  must  have  a  party-colored  coat  to  make  up 
for  their  want  of  sense  and  dignity. — "  Motley  is  your  only  wear." 

NOTE  G,  PAGE  283. — With  this  venerable  friend  and  sterling  patriot,  Mr. 
Randolph  believes  that  "  the  great  body  of  the  people  of  New  England 
are  genuine  Republicans,  of  steady  and  virtuous  habits,  unsurpassed  by 
any  other  people  upon  earth.  But  they  are  too  often  hoodwinked  by  the 
priesthood  and  the  press  in  the  interest  of  the  aristocracy. 


APPENDIX.  319 


POSTSCRIPT,  IN  LIEU  OF  A  PREFACE. 


It  is  unnecessary  perhaps,  but  candor  demands  the  avowal,  to  apprize 
*'  the  courteous  reader"  that  there  is  much  in  the  foregoing  speech  that 
was  not  spoken  on  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  There  are 
some  things  too,  for  example,  page  281,  lines  32  to  38,  reported  not  as  the 
speaker  said  them ;  but,  at  the  distance  of  a  fortnight,  under  the  pressure  of 
other  avocations,  he  could  not  correct  such  parts  of  the  report.  Not  recol 
lecting  what  he  did  say,  he  was  fain  to  let  it  stand,  although  he  was  con 
scious  that  he  had  not  said  what  is  there  set  down.  To  his  friends  he  is 
indebted  for  the  restoration  of  many  passages  which  their  memory  had 
preserved  and  recalled  to  Mr.  Randolph's  recollections.  Of  these  he  will 
here  indicate  but  two  relating  to  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  pages  402  and  303,  and 
the  page  preceding,  referring  to  Othello. 

This  date  speaks  volumes  to  the  old,  tried,  consistent  Republicans. 
This  day,  seven  and  twenty  years  ago,  not  two  hours  after  its  commence 
ment,  the  elder  Adams*  took  his  flight  from  the  capitol,  shrouding  him 
self  in  darkness  from  the  intolerable  light  of  day  and  the  public  gaze. 
What  should  we  have  said  that  morning  if  it  had  been  predicted  that  the 
son,  without  the  recantation  of  a  single  principle,  with  no  other  recom 
mendation  but  that  which  has  been  held  anything  but  a  recommendation 
elsewhere,  with  no  other  recommendation  but  that  of  an  approver  or 
states'  evidence  should,  in  four  and  twenty  years,  succeed  that  father? 
Ay,  and  that  an  "August  Convention"  in  Virginia  should  recommend 
and  support  that  son  for  this  high  office  against  an  uniform,  unwavering, 
tried  Republican,  who  had  fought  in  the  war  of  our  Revolution,  and  shed 
his  stripling  blood  for  his  country,  and  who,  in  the  second  war  with  Eng 
land  had  crowned  himself  and  her  with  imperishable  renown — laurels  that 

*  On  reaching  an  inn  beyond  Baltimore,  'tis  said  that  Mr.  Adams,  walking  up  to  a  por 
trait  of  Washington,  and  placing  his  finger  on  his  lips,  exclaimed,  "  If  I  had  kept  my 
lips  as  close  as  that  man,  I  should  now  be  the  President  of  the  United  States." 


320  APPENDIX. 

can  never  fade,  that  will  flourish  and  grow  green  in  history  and  in  song,, 
while  Mississippi  shall  pay  his  tribute  to  the  sea! 

Men  of  the  South!  matrons  and  maids  of  Louisiana!  How  say  you? 
Do  you  find  against  your  defender?  Republicans  of  every  state  and 
clime !  How  say  you  ?  Do  you  find  for  the  Sedition  Law  and  its  advo 
cates  against  a  tried  Republican  in  the  Reign  of  Terror  ? 


;  Remember  March !  The  Ides  of  March  remember !' 
Shall  Rome  ?    Speak,  strike,  redress !" 


MARCH  4,  1828. 


. 


THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  SANTA  CRUZ 

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